KEZZ 1: Thank you for your review!
To the guest who decided to comment on chapter one that my summary deters readers, I'd like to know where. Honestly, I am slightly offended, but with how many views, visitors, and hits I have between two different sites, yeah, I'm just gonna say to said guest if you bothered reading this far: Meh...Just because it's not interesting to you doesn't mean it's not to others.
Lastly, sorry that it's been taking me longer and longer to post. I really have no excuse other than I'm having problems with distractions...XP I'll try to post a couple chapters a week at least...Again, thank you all for reading this and I truly hope you're enjoying!
Negan sat in his office the next day thinking about his discussion with Ani. She'd called him out yet again, telling him what he already knew about his kingdom. Yet she'd also given him a few ways to make it better. Told him he needed to train his soldiers and that if he was going to lead, he needed to lead. His men were thugs, and while that might be a good thing for him it would eventually bite him in the ass. If he made it more of an actual militia, where the men followed rules and were expected to treat others better than they currently did just because they were pissed off, he might just be able to build his keep into a fortress that truly would be formidable. Right now, he didn't have anything other than fear and numbers keeping people in line. While there were plenty he'd thoroughly inspired over the months, Negan had to admit that she had made a lot of good points about how to bring the rest into line without using fear tactics. A leader, she'd said, was someone everyone mutually respected and looked to to keep them safe, not someone they feared, someone they never knew would kill them for whatever little grievance they had. That little woman certainly had some ideas about what it took to be a leader.
That right there was a problem for him, though. She'd also told him in no certain words that he did not want her in his ranks because she would turn people against him simply by telling the truth and doing what was right. Thing about that was that she was already seemingly turning Laura against him with Simon feeling for the girl too. Then again, it was rather easy to see how she could do it. She was making him think about things he hadn't for a long time, making him admit to things he didn't want to even to himself. It wasn't just the way she spoke, the way she picked apart everything she heard, the way she spoke the truth about herself even if she didn't mean to. It was in the sincerity of her eyes when she spoke, whether it was a threat, an observation, or the truth. It was in the way her eyes cornered you and forced you to listen. The way she fought both with tongue and fist, something he hadn't quite had to deal with yet.
He was used to people fighting. He was used to people bargaining. He was used to people begging for the Saviors to do one thing or another. The last thing Negan had expected when Rick had threatened him about Ani and that she would kill him was that there was an actual threat to be had there. It wasn't so much that she had actually fought against him, aside from that singular punch she'd almost landed, though he had to admit he had not even seen her moving to make that blow. It was more in how she was able to cut deep with her words or make you doubt yourself with a simple phrase. Telling Laura she was happy that Laura had survived her ordeal and come out as a survivor rather than a victim had the woman thinking twice about things she'd put behind her when her father had died over the winter. A few sharp words from her had him spilling his guts out to her. Even Simon had asked about how she was before he'd left for the Hilltop.
Negan knew that Simon wore a locket around his neck with his sister's and niece's combined picture in it. He'd lost his parents at nineteen and was left to look after his ten year old sister, who he ended up doting on. Simon had been just as loving and doting on his niece when her father died in an accident; he'd been a trucker and it was either him and the truck when the break lines went out or a school bus. The man had died a hero, and Simon had told his niece the story of her father every day so her mom could work and they could all survive and live in a world where having children was so costly that a single parent would have to work more than one job. If it hadn't been for Simon's pretty decent job as a mortgage broker, his sister and niece would have been struggling. They'd died right in front of him shortly after everything went to hell. It was easy to understand why the man would worry about Ani after learning of her past.
Hell, even he was thinking about whether or not he was going about this all in the right way for her. Even though Daryl was near cracking, or had been until he'd fucked up and scratched up the girl's face, she was no where near. If anything, hurting Daryl had strengthened her resolve. Negan couldn't understand. He had loved Lucille with all his heart. His mess up had eaten away at him for months and months until the world went to hell and he had to think about his Lucy's treatment. Humming their song to himself, he couldn't help but think about that last night with her, how she'd given him his leather jacket. He thought about how they'd dined on dog food made five star cuisine with some herbs and spices, how they'd smoked the last bit of weed and romped in the sack like they were teens all over again. Negan thought about that night a lot, but this time, this time he doubted himself, not for the first time, but for the first time in a long time. If he had stayed there, maybe things would have turned out differently, but he'd still have lost her. A knock on the door of his personal room pulled him out of his reverie and had him smiling.
"Everything ready?" he asked as he stood up and walked out of the room.
"All set," Dwight told him.
"Alright, grab Daryl. I'm gonna make me a pit stop and I'll be right down," Negan said, Dwight nodding in acquiescence as he left the wives' sitting room. "Ladies, I'll be back later today. Freshen yourselves up a bit for me by then."
Negan left himself after that exchange, giving Sherry a lingering kiss on his way out. She was by far his favorite wife because even though she had been married to Dwight, that aspect in and of itself half the fun of it all, much like Dwight was one of his best men, Sherry was his best wife. Faithful, loyal, and willing to let him know what was happening with the other wives, Sherry had done a damn good job at proving just how sorry she had been for leaving with Tina and Dwight when they did. Thinking about her, he was smiling by the time he made it to the red door, tapping on it in his trademark 'Shave and a Haircut' rhythm. Laura opened it to show Ani sitting up on the bed, an empty plate in front of her.
"Still enjoying our hospitality, I see."
"Only ta build up me strength. More ya feed me, more ya help me get betta. Soona I get betta, soona I get Daryl outta here, soona I get 'im somewhere safe."
"He could be safe here," Negan suggested.
"Ya think I don' see through that bullshite?" Ani asked him with a bored and tired look on her face. "Ain' no one truly safe here! Ya jus' say they are. Ain' no where safe, Negan, no where. But this place? It's less safe than all those otha places, 'cause one wrong move and ya gonna piss off the wrong person and catch a beatin'. One wrong move and ya dead 'cause someone's havin' a shite day. Ya know, I was chased all ova Georgia by people like ya. Ya break the rules, ya catch a beaten, and it all depended on the day and the mood for how bad a beatin' ya got. Damn near beat Daryl ta death jus' 'cause 'e was lookin' for me and found 'em instead. Only one difference 'tween what ya do and what they did? They wanted ta rape me, claimed me first time they even saw me," she told them. "That's one thing I don' see bein' an issue here."
"They claimed you?" Laura asked. "Like, as if they owned you?"
"Well, they tried ta. Didn' really make it too far past sayin' 'claimed'," she said, lowering her voice to imitate a man's, making Negan chuckle, "'fore I dealt with the problem."
"And how did you deal with 'the problem?'" he asked her, air quoting her own words, curiosity getting the better of him.
"I cut their cocks off and stuffed 'em in their mouths," she told him nonchalantly complete with a shrug of her shoulders as she got off the bed and started stretching. "Killed 'em by gettin' their jugular, left 'em ta turn chewin' on their own dicks."
"Wow," Laura said, her face going even paler than she already was. "That's pretty sick."
"I know, I jus' don' care," Ani told her, her stretch turning into a minor yoga-type practice to get her muscles loosened. "Ya do somethin' as sick and twisted as rape, ya deserve a sick and twisted punishment. Reminds me a when I caught a woman beatin' on 'er nephews. Already was on me shite list for hittin' on Daryl even when I was in the room. Asked 'er boys if they wanted 'er ta jus' go or get a beatin' 'erself. The eldest, he wanted 'er ta know how it felt. So I replicated every last bruise on their torsos that I'd seen. The little one, he was barely ten and 'e had a perfect print a her fist right in the middle a his chest. I beat that bitch like the piece a shite she was, and then come morn, 'fore everyone was up, me and Daryl, Michonne, Merle. We dragged that bitch out. Only reason I didn' shoot 'er in the leg and let 'er bleed out or be left ta the walkas was 'cause Daryl and Merle were there. I didn' want 'em ta know how cruel I could be."
"How is that different from what I do?" Negan asked, thoroughly enthralled by the short wonder on the bed.
"We didn' do it ta prove a point, aside from the fact that abuse ain' gonna fly and that I don' do things without good reason. And, even then, that beatin' wouldn' a happened if the boys had said no. She'd've been thrown in a cell and 'sent on 'er way' ratha than catch a beatin'. And the beatin' was given propa reasons, with proof and honesty throughout the entire process ta prove 'er guilt. Her death? That was jus' ensurin' me people's safety, the safety a them boys."
"What happened to the boys?" Laura asked.
"They died," she told them looking down. "One died durin' a walka attack, and then the otha died on a run lata on. We've lost a lot a people ova the months, but none a them were jus' 'cause someone was pissed off. Only two deaths we had that were caused by membas a our group was when a sickness broke out. Only two people had it at the time that we knew a for sure, one a our group, Carol, she killed 'em in the middle a the night and burned their bodies."
"Damn, that's harsh," Negan told her.
He watched her laugh before she scoffed and told him, "Nah, that wasn' what was harsh. What was harsh was that I should a been down there with 'em, in isolation. Thought I was jus' dealin' with seasonal allagies, normal shite I've dealt with since I was a kid, but it wasn' and I should a been down there. When we found out what she did, she said I'd a been happy ta have 'er kill me, too, if it stopped the spread a the illness. Completely disregarded the stockpile a tonics and elixirs and herbs and shite jus' for such an occasion. Didn' care that I was a married woman and 'er daughta was attached ta me hip. Basically adopted that girl even though she don' know it. Always called 'er sis 'cause I'm only 'bout a decade olda, but she's mine. But Cars, she didn' care 'bout none a that. She jus' saw one path ta get the outcome she wanted, a path that backfired 'cause we were all exposed the day 'fore anyways. She thought she was keepin' us safe and stoppin' their sufferin'. She thought we'd all be okay with it. We weren', still ain'. Jus' tryin' ta move past it."
"I can imagine that would be a hard thing to do." Nodding his head in understanding while raising his eyebrows before looking down, Negan looked back up with a smile on his face as he watched her move through a few forms, "How about you get out of this room today. Take a look around. Tom and Ellie left last night with Simon, so you don't gotta worry about them. I'm takin' a little trip outta here, so you can see how things work when I'm not around. Maybe give me some more ideas to think about about how to improve my empire," he said with a smile that turned hard at the last minute. "And don't even think about runnin' into Daryl either. He's leavin' with me. Behave yourself, and maybe he'll be in the same condition the next time you see him."
"Where ya goin'?" Ani asked him, her face barely changing to that of curiosity.
"And ain't that the reason I'm here," Negan told her, smiling away while thrusting his bat towards her. "Anything from home you want?"
"Jus', don' kill Bobby or Catty. Ya can' miss 'em, since they're bobcat kittens," she told him, not even thinking batting an eye or taking a moment to think from what he could see. "And don' hurt the kids, Carl, Phia, Beth, and Judith. I took 'em unda me wing, and they will fight back, well, not Judith, but she can' even start trainin' yet."
"I ask if you want anything from home and you give me a list of things you want from me?" Negan asked with a raised eyebrow.
"What I want from home is me babies and me kids ta be safe from ya and ya people. That's what I want from home."
"Damn, you know how to make demands."
"Well, be more specific then. I don' need..." Ani stopped mid sentence and form before looking Negan right in the eye. "Daryl's poncho. Should be on the couch in me house. I want me babies and kids ta be safe from ya people and I want that poncho."
"That's oddly specific," Negan told her with a smirk.
"Smells like Daryl," she said, a look of longing crossing her face before it hardened all over again. "Ya gonna beat 'im some more?"
"Not if you play your cards right."
"So, not if I kneel."
"That's right," he said softly. "It's not too much to ask, is it? All you gotta do is work for me. Put those brains to good use here, for the Sanctuary. Help the people with your psychology and know how. And Daryl gets to come back to your bed. He gets to be there for your baby. No more beatings or cold cement floors for him. Comfort and health for the both of you! Just kneel. Be Negan. And the world is yours for the taking."
"I'm Ania Dixon!" she seethed, Negan practically feeling the rage rolling off her as she squared up to him. "I'll only eva kneel for Daryl. I'll neva bow ta anotha man's whims."
"You bow to Rick's," he reasoned.
Negan was surprised when Ani started laughing, thinking that it hadn't been that funny until she told him, "Yeah, 'bout that. Rick might be the leada, but I'm the one 'e looks ta. Whetha it's for advice and guidance when it comes ta the big choices, I'm the one that calls the shots. He's mostly jus' a mouthpiece that keeps me from havin' ta be in the spotlight or havin' everyone comin' up askin' me all the stupid shite that eitha doesn' really fuckin' matta, like nothin' happened on watch, or everyone should know, like where ta put somethin'."
"So you run the show from the shadows?"
"Kinda, yeah," Ani surmised. "I'm jus' the smartest person there and have the best ability to figya shite out. Forensic psychologist plus genius plus ADHD makin' me notice everythin' and autism makin' me put it all tagetha quickly; I might as well be a human lie detecta and situation analyza."
"You could do that here. Make this place better," Negan tried to persuade her, knowing he had quite a few people at the Sanctuary who could do with some psychological help. "We got plenty a people who could use your expertise, your particular skill set. You could help a lot of folks stayin' here and helpin' people out."
"Nah, not with what's gone on 'ere. Not with what's gone on. I want no part a this place. I don' care if people here need me ta be here. I don' care if there's a mock guarantee a safety for me and mine. I don' care if ya people die 'cause they can' handle their shite. The only thing I care 'bout is gettin' me man back and gettin' outta," Ani told him as she moved onto the next form.
"There's an easy way to at least get one of those things right now. Hell, maybe even both of 'em if you play your cards right. And like I said, there are a lot of people you could help here that won't get the help you can offer otherwise," Negan told her with a pat on her hand. "Think about it while we're gone. Take a walk. Look around and see how it all works. And again, don't try anything stupid. Daryl's comin' with me and I'd hate to have to hurt him as soon as I get back because of something you did."
"No promises," she told him with a smirk, making Negan chuckle himself as he got up from sitting beside her, Laura walking over to her with the promise of a shower. "'Cause whateva ya do ta him, I'm gonna do ta ya some day."
He just smirked at her before he turned and walked out of the room, closing the door with a heavy sigh and a shake of his head as his eyebrows rose high. She certainly was something else. He could believe that she was the leader from the shadows with how she was already trying to look after the people here, give them a better way of life by giving him pointers on how to lead. If he could get her to his side, everyone in the Sanctuary could better from it, hell maybe everyone from everywhere could. Negan couldn't help but think about everything he slowly learned about the girl, most of which was just how smart she was and that she had a moral high-ground she wasn't willing to surrender. It was going to be difficult for the Saviors to break her, though, he was slowly getting the idea of how to do it. Making his way out of the factory, he smiled as he saw all the vehicles and people there, Dwight and Daryl standing front and center.
"Guess what, Daryl!" he told the man. "We're gonna take a little ride. See what goodies we can find. And you, you're gonna be a fine man and show me which house is yours."
"I ain't showin' you nothin'," Daryl replied.
"Careful now. You want her to stay comfy, cozy, right? Or would you rather she start getting the same treatment I've been giving you?" Negan asked, a menacing smirk on his face as he got real close to the man, the minor defiance in Daryl's face as he stared at him making Negan narrow his eyes. "I don't have to keep putting her up how I have been. She don't need to be havin' three squares and all kinds of comfort and goodies. I could always put her in a cell like yours. Don't make me."
Negan watched as Daryl looked down, his smile going cold for a moment before he turned toward Dwight and told him to load Daryl up. Everyone got into the various vehicles and left to head towards Alexandria. It was only roughly twenty miles or so out, but they never went the same way to a place as they left, and never took the same path twice if they didn't have to. And to get to Alexandria, well, there were at least six different ways to get to the same road that lead to the town. It took over an hour to get there, the procession having to move around the herds that roamed stretches of the road at times. All in all, Negan was a pretty happy man when their convoy finally arrived at the gates of Alexandria, the community Rick the Prick was in charge of.
With a chuckle and a smile, he exited the truck he rode in and started whistling as he walked up to the gate, banging on it and saying, "Little pig, little pig! Let me in!" He'd expected Rick to open the door, but some smooth looking asshole opened it instead, just the cover, not the gate, and just stared at him, Negan couldn't help but ask, "Well?"
"Um, who are you?" the charmer said with a dumb look that had Negan's smile turning even broader.
"Oh, you better be jokin'!" he told the man, leaning back with flair of his head. "Negan, Lucille. I know I had to make a pretty strong first impression." It only took another moment for Rick to walk up, the look on his face one that told Negan the man felt like he was swallowing shit, but it only made him smile and say, "Why, hello there. Do not make me have to ask."
"You said a week," Rick said as he moved to open the gate. "You're early."
"I missed you," Negan told him with a smile and a chuckle. A walker started walking up to the gates between the vehicles, causing the man to turn to it before looking back at Rick and telling him, "Oh, Rick, come on out here. Watch this. Callin' it!" With a swing to the things head with Lucille, Negan laughed and turned back around towards Rick, "Easy, peasy, lemon squeazy!" Making back towards the gate, he motioned for his vehicles to start moving in as he told the Alexandrians, "Alright, everybody! Let's get started! Big day. Hey Rick, you see that?" he asked the man as he stared over at Daryl. "That is some service! I mean, we almost get turned away at the gate. 'Who is that guy anyway?'" he mimicked and pointed to the charmer. "Do I get mad? Do I throw a fit? Do I some Asian's dome in? Nope! I just take care of one of these dead pricks that could a killed one of y'all," he told Rick, gesturing with an exceptional flail of the hand before he bowed just a bit. "Service," he whispered walking past Rick with Lucille up, passing the bat off to Rick when he walked by. "Hold this. Hot diggity dog!" he said as he walked in and saw Alexandria in person.
The houses were splendid, each being two story with peaked roofs and some kind of porch attached to them. The yards were average for the kind of neighborhood this had been and they had certainly managed to keep the natural beauty of the place of deteriorating. Trees meant for visuals rather than use lined the road, shrubs were in front of many of the houses, and there was even a pond in the center of the town. Negan could understand why Ani wanted to get home when she lived in a place like this. This, this was real luxury.
"This place is magnificent!" Negan said, turning back around towards Rick. "An embarrassment of riches as they say. Yes, sir, I do believe you are gonna have plenty to offer up."
As he turned back around he heard Rick call, "Daryl, hey-"
"No," Negan shut him down, turning to him and telling him the rules concerning Daryl. "Nope. He's the help. You don't look at him. You don't talk to him, and I don't make you chop anything off of him. I'd hate for Titania's next meal to be part Daryl," he threatened, looking around and walking over to a woman that was staring at the man intently with a look he knew all too well. "Same goes for everyone," he sang out at her, staring her down himself as he got into her personal space and asked, "Right?"
The woman simply unfolded her arms and looked at him before rolling them and walking away, Negan walking up to Rick afterwards, "Whoo, a lot of suspense there. I don't even think she knew how much. Alright, let's get this show on the road. See what kind of goodies you got in the cupboard."
"We put aside half the supplies-" Rick started as Negan began walking into Alexandria, apparently thinking he was still somewhat in charge of this new arrangement.
"No, Rick. No. You don't decide what we take. I do. Arat," he said as he turned back towards Rick, knowing Arat would know what to do as she'd been one of his best leaders who put the men in their places a lot.
"You heard the man!" said woman shouted. "Move out!"
Negan clapped his hands gently as he watched his men disperse throughout the streets of Alexandria, a smile firmly planted on his head at the thought of what they could get. He'd already told them that anything and everything was free except from Ani's home. Negan himself was going to decide what he wanted from there. Sure, he was going to grab the poncho Ani had asked for, hell, maybe he'd even be nice and have Daryl wear it back so that it really did smell like his sorry smelling ass. But he wanted to see what kind of life of luxury they lived.
"They're just gonna search the houses a bit," Negan told Rick, putting his thumbs in his pockets as he watched his men spread out. "Keep the process movin'. Alright," he sighed. "Are you gonna show me around or not? Well?"
Negan couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him as Rick began to walk in front of him, at least until Rick asked, "How's Ani? Is she alright?"
"Well, now, that depends on you. You, Daryl, and whoever else comes up and asks me about her," Negan told him. "Oh, and I gotta see me them bobcats she was talkin' about! That is some crazy shit right there!"
"They're not here," Rick told him, both Negan and Rick watching as Daryl froze. "Merle, Sophia, Abraham, and Sasha took the kittens and went out scavenging the day before last. Haven't been back since."
"Abraham? That the redhead? Merle's Daryl's brother, I know that from Titania. Well now, that's a damn shame. I was kinda hopin' to surprise our little leprechaun with her little pets. Too bad they're all out scavenging. Hope for their sake's it's not some kinda ruse, well, theirs and yours, and Daryl's, and Ani's," Negan said with a menacing smile as they walked, taking a few steps faster than Rick as some of his men came out of a house carrying a fancy chair. "Do you see this? This is the kind of thing that just tickles my balls. A little cooperation and everything is pleasant as punch. You see we really are reasonable people once you get to know us. Honest," he said, opening a cooler to find a can of soda, opening it and chugging half before throwing the rest on the side of the road. "Man I love this place."
"Negan," one of his men said as they walked up, holding Deanna's camcorder. "Somethin' you might wanna see. Couple somethin's."
Handing over the camcorder and a separate disc to Negan, the man stood there as Negan looked at the things and looked over to Rick, shaking the camera as he brought it up and saying, "Well, well, well. What do we have here? I got my fingers crossed for a little freaky deaky!" When Rick's voice began playing from the recorder, Negan looked down to see a crazed looking man that Rick had once been, from his beard to his eyes. "Jee-hee-sus!" Negan said, taking in the change between when he'd gotten to this community and now. "Is that you, Rick, underneath all that man-bush? Shee-ut, I would not have messed with that guy," he drawled out slowly before turning the camera towards Rick and hitting record. "But that's not you anymore...is it?" Rick looked at him, and it was in pure mock and sarcasm that Negan turned the camera to himself and cried, "Nope! I really gotta shave this shit. Now, let's see what video number two has!"
Switching the discs out, being careful not to scratch Rick's since he wanted to see more of it later, Negan popped in the second as he took notice of a third in the man's hands, "What's that?"
"It's another one. You gotta see this one first, though," the man responded, prompting Negan to press play.
"You said you were looking for someone?" he heard an older woman's voice ring out.
When Tom's voice rang out next, Negan began paying attention to the video, seeing the same Tom and Ellie, though in nicer clothing, on the screen, "Our girl, Chrystal. We were all traveling together until just before the first snow. We got separated, two, three weeks ago? We have to find her and make sure she's safe."
"And why's that?"
"She was visitin' her sista," Ellie spoke next, both of them looking prim and proper and nothing like the bikers that had shown up at one of their safe houses in an attempt to scavenge. "I don' know why she'd even want ta go anywhere near that wee devil. Had ta send 'er away at fourteen 'cause she was always hurtin' our Chrys."
"Titania was a handful. She was beautiful, but she was born with a touch of the Devil in her. Doctors said it was this illness of the mind or that, so many that she was on medicine for it was hard to keep it straight. But she'd have these violent outbursts, was completely deranged. She almost killed people. We had to send her away to protect the family, to protect her from herself," Tom said in the video.
"She really was nothin' but a danga ta our family and herself. We had ta send her away. She had ta be kept unda lock and key. We sent her ta a facility out in Georgia that could deal with special cases like hers," Ellie said. "Chrys, she was brilliant, but a bleedin' heart. She loved her sista even though she'd tried ta kill her. She was a forensic psychologist and a genius. She knew her herbal medicine, too. Such a sweet child, always lookin' out for everyone. And Titania, she was just the opposite. Heartless, cruel, deranged. She was always jealous of our Chrystal."
Negan shut it off, hearing enough to confirm that he'd been lied to, ripping the disc from the slot and chucking it angrily behind him and grabbing the next one, "This had better be something more interesting and a whole helluva lot less irritating."
"Everything matters. We have families here, looking for loved ones. What if it was your family?"
"Me family is outside waitin' ta do this ridiculous audition. Ya know we could take this place from ya with barely any fight, right? Ya sent the most untrained, unorganized, and frankly, obviously expendable people out ta recruit. I don' see the people in 'ere bein' much betta," an Ani with both sides of her head full of hair, a braid containing a feather and a bead on one side while the rest spread around her like a mane, two kittens in her arms as she sat in a chair.
"Damn! I thought she was hot even with the scar on her head, but holy hell! She really does have bobcat kittens! And this is your wife?" Negan turned to ask Daryl. "Seriously, I gotta learn how that happened."
"Then 'e ain' got shite compared ta what ya need nowadays. Might got the gun trainin', but I doubt 'e has the right mindset, let alone the capability ta take down several walkas at once," her voice rang out as Negan quieted down, looking back at the screen intently.
"We could, if you were willing to help."
"Find a different mole-hill. I ain' wantin' ta train everyone and anyone. Merle and Abe would be good for that kinda thing, trainin' the troops. And Sasha. I'll only work with the best a the best recruits."
"Sounds like you're already making plans to improve this place. You still haven't answered the question about your other names, though. What if someone shows up asking for you and we don't know who they are talking about? Or what if someone was looking for you from your past that happened to be brought in? Is there no one you would want to know you're alive?"
"Titania Parker, or Tea. That was me name 'fore everythin'."
"A unique name. What did you do? Before all this?"
"This, that, and anotha. Professionally, I was a forensic psychologist. On the side? I was foragin', huntin', keepin' up me studies as an apothecary. I was teachin' psychology and learnin' Judo, Maui Thai and basic MMA all around. I was and still am a lot of things."
"Like the leader, even though everyone thinks it's Rick?"
"Yep. He had a rough go a it a while back. Lost 'is wife, so lost 'is head."
"So she wasn't bullshittin' me when she said she was more the leader than you," Negan turned to Rick with a chuckle. "And wow that list of what she did! Teaching? Hunting? Foraging? And what's this, apothecary stuff? I mean, that's just all that whacko-science that says stones can detoxify and all that, right?"
"You'd have to ask Ani the specifics," Rick told him, his face telling Negan that he wasn't happy he knew who Ani was to the community. "Tonics, elixirs, poultices, herbs...Those kinds of things for medicinal purposes. I don't understand much of it myself. Can't do surgeries and doesn't like doing stitches, but can, but superficial stuff she's good at. Minor injuries, illness."
"Is that so? Now I really gotta keep her around. Can't let someone like that go to waste around a place like this when she can do some real good elsewhere," Negan said wistfully while looking around before turning back to Rick. "And, seriously, does she ever stop trying to make someone or somethin' better? Gave me an earful myself the first time I sat and talked to her about how I could do things better," Negan chuckled and shook his head, pausing for a moment and looking at the woman on the screen before handing the camcorder back to his man.
"Whatever happened to that sick girl?" he asked all of a sudden. "That must have been one stressful night for her. The was she was carrying on, she was married to that Asian guy right?" he asked, Rick's gaze turning hard as the man looked up into his eyes, making Negan rise to the challenge. "Careful. Careful how you're lookin' at me, Rick. Widows, especially ones that look like that...whoo...they. Are. Special. Right after their husbands go, they are just empty inside. But usually not for long," he sang before chuckling quite suggestively and thinking about a couple of his wives in particular. "Ahh, where is she? I would love to see her?"
"Do you care to pay your respects?" a voice called out from behind him, Negan starting and whipping around to see a bald, black man standing in a priest's outfit, complete with smile and bible in his hands folded in front of him.
"Ho-ly crap!" Negan told him. "You are creepy as shit, sneaking up on me, wearing that collar with that freaky as smile!"
"My apologies," the man said, Negan still wondering how the hell a preacher had managed to make it this far. "I'm Father Gabriel."
Negan scoffed before slowly turning back to Rick and gauging his reaction to the newcomer's words, "She didn't make it?"
Rick looked down before looking anywhere but at Negan, Daryl behind him looking like he'd just had to swallow a piece of shit at the news. Father Gabriel offered to show them the way, Negan, Daryl, Rick, and the Father heading to an area by the gate that had several markers on them with two freshly dug graves. Negan couldn't help but feel a little bit bad about the widow's death. She was in bad shape as it was that night. Honestly, he should've gone for that redhead that was no where to be found rather than the grumpy Asian, but the man had been the first to try to get to him. That's all there had been to it.
"Damn tragedy," Negan said while looking at the graves. "That's what this is." He sighed, "Well, this must really suck for you guys. Here I was, willing to let the lessons be learned the easy way, just takin' Daryl and Titania. What happened, well, it didn't need to happen. Daryl, there, he forced my hand. Probably put her right on her back, huh? Damn. I was gonna ask her to come back with me. Oh, I know what you're thinkin'. How could I have a shot, the guy that just bashed her husband's head in?" Negan chuckled while looking at Rick. "You'd be surprised. Boy, people, they-"
A gunshot echoing in the distance had him stop talking mid-sentence and look over towards Rick with a threatening glare before he walked past him and towards the area where the shot echoed out. It didn't take much time to find the source, walking into a building that had various greens and glass jars as well as more traditionally recognizable medicine. Dave, a rather sleazy guy in all honesty, was being held at gunpoint by the little serial killer sans the awesome hat he'd been wearing that night in the quarry.
"You die," the kid told Dave.
"Carl, Carl, put it down," Rick pleaded as Negan walked up behind the boy.
"No, they're taking all our medicine!" the boy said. "They said only half our stuff! And they keep breaking Ani's tonics and elixirs! That's not easy stuff to make!"
"Oh, now, boys, don't be breakin' the stuff in the glass jars. Leave that for these fine folks," Negan said as he turned towards Carl. "Of course, it's the little serial killer. Really, kid?"
"You should go," Carl told him, not batting an eye at his presence. "Before you find out how dangerous we really are."
"Well, pardon me, young man," Negan said. "Excuse the shit out of my goddamn French, but...did you just threaten me? I mean, I get threatening Davey here, but I can't have it. Not him, not me."
"Carl, just put the gun down," Rick interrupted, causing Negan to raise his finger in a silent warning to stop.
"Don't be rude, Rick. We are havin' a conversation here. Now boy," he said to Carl as the boy just stood there staring at him with as hard a glare as a prepubescent teenager could give. "Where were we? Oh yeah, your giant, man-sized balls. No threatening us. Listen, I like you, so I don't want to go hard proving a point here. You don't want that. I said half your shit. And half is what I say it is. I'm serious. Do you want me to prove how serious? Again?"
With a sigh, the boy handed the gun over to his father, the anger practically rolling off of him in waves as he returned to his first spot while Negan turned towards Rick with a sigh. "You know, Rick, this whole thing reminds me that you have a lot of guns. There's all the guns you took from my outpost when you wasted all my people with a shit-ton of your own guns, and I'm bettin' there's even more, which adds up to an absolute...assload of guns," he said with a lean back before coming back up. "And as this little emotional outburst has just made crystal clear...I can't allow that. They're all mine now. So tell me, Rick—where are my guns?"
Rick lead the way to yet another of the oh so grand houses with an attached garage, a rather large lady opening the door as their truck pulled up. "Hi. Figured you were coming," she told him, barely able to hold herself together.
"Show him where the guns are, Olivia," Rick told her.
"The armory's inside."
"You run the show in here?" Negan asked, thinking he really didn't know what all they had at the Sanctuary, yet another thing Ani had pointed out herself.
"I just keep track of it all," Olivia answered. "The rations, the guns."
"Good. Smart," Negan told her. "Take Arat and the boys. Show 'em the goods." As she walked off with his men in tow, he couldn't help but stop Rick as he went to follow along, "Wait, wait, wait. While they're at it, I just want to point out to you that I'm not takin' a scrap of your food. Slim pickin's in here. And I can't be the only one to notice that you got a fat lady in charge of keeping track of rations, now, can I? Either way, you starve to death, I don't get shit. So for now, you get to keep all the food. How about that?"
"What do you want me to say?" Rick asked after a few moments of dumbfounded silence.
"I don't know, Rick," Negan told him in a voice barely above a whisper, though it rose as he spoke. "How about a thank you, Rick? Think that might be in order? Or is that too much to ask?!" The confused look on Rick's face had him chuckling before he turned away, "Ohh. I know we started off on the wrong foot, but what can I say? You and Ani forced my hand, Rick."
"That...that wasn't Ani's choice. She just agreed with it. She didn't bargain it, so leave her out of it," Rick told him.
"Yet she's still killed fifteen of my men! I just happen to like her spunk! Either way, it's like I've been tryin' to tell you- I'm a very reasonable man as long as you cooperate. So let me ask you a question, Rick. Are you cooperating?"
"What does it look like?" Rick asked, though the defiance in his glare was plain as day.
"Oh, I know what it looks like," Negan said, getting in Rick's face. "But I really wanna know is if we're gonna find all the guns back there or if you've got a few just waiting for their moment. Just like my Lucille."
"They're all in there, to the best of my knowledge," Rick told him still glaring at him as if he was a walker he could smell but not kill.
"I am countin' on that, Rick," Negan replied with a smile.
Walking into the house and to the armory, he had to admit that he was impressed with the stockpile that was there. Not only did they have a vast artillery of high-powered rifles, they also had quite the assortment of handguns and a ton of bullets. Negan thought that they'd had a decent weapons cache, but the amount in Alexandria would add almost another third to his own armory. As he followed the first load out, he grinned at Daryl as he passed by carrying an armload of weapons to pile in the truck. It was quite amusing watching the man who refused to kneel doing his bidding anyway. Negan was entirely entertained watching the weapons be loaded into the back of the truck.
"You know what today is, Rick? Today is a banner day," he told the man as they stood and watched Savior after Savior and Daryl come out of the armory with weapons. "Yes, it is. I think this little arrangement we have is going to work out just fine." As Daryl came out with yet another armful of weapons, he told the man, "Hold up." Reaching out, he grabbed one of the handguns out of Daryl's load and began checking it, "Let's see if you've been taking care of my guns." After he finished checking, he pointed it at Daryl's head, the man barely pausing as he passed but Rick's look of fear completely tickling Negan's balls. Raising it just a little higher, he pulled the trigger at a window, enjoying the look of terror that passed Rick's face before he put the safety back on. "Feels good," he chuckled. "Sounds good. Oh, I do believe Lucille's getting a little jealous here. Well, ho-ly smokes!" Negan told Rick as one of his men brought out an RPG launcher. "Look at this!" he said as he switched the pistol with the launcher. "It was you guys that took out Little Timmy and the Dick Brigade? Wow, Rick. Gettin' in your last licks. Oo, man, I'm gonna have some fun with this."
His reverie at all the things he could do with a rocket launcher was immediately dismantled by the sounds of pleading and stomping up the stairs. Arat was dragging the fat lady up the stairs towards him as she begged and swore she didn't know whatever it was Arat was upset about. While she wasn't the worst when it came to violence, Arat did have quite the temper on her that could cause some issues like they were having right now, but damn was she good at following orders without fail.
"Arat, we don't do that," he chastised her. "Not unless they do something to deserve it."
"Yeah," she answered. "Guns in the armory, guns they had around the walls, they're short. Glock 9 and a .22 Bobcat."
Negan watched as Rick looked everywhere but at him before turning to Olivia. "Is that true?"
Olivia nodded as Rick said, "We had some people leave town. Two of those guns probably went with them."
"So Olivia sucks at her job," Negan told him. "Is that what you're saying?"
"No. No, I'm not saying that."
"There should be full accounting here," Negan cut him off, "right? Top to bottom. Am I right?" he asked Olivia.
"No," Olivia defended. "I mean, yes. The inventory is correct."
"Good," Negan told her. "But not so good. You see, what's in here isn't in there. You're two handguns short. Do you know where they are?"
"No, but Ani did mention that I needed more security," Olivia admitted. "The window was only opened by a latch at first. Now you'll notice there's a deadbolt?"
"I'll give her that," Arat said. "Found it odd for a deadbolt and lock being on a window."
"Well, that's still disappointing. Rick, I thought that we had an understanding," Negan said, turning to the man after listening to the two women. "But this—well, this shows that someone's not on board, maybe not for a long time. And I can't have that." Turning to Olivia, he threatened her with a smirk, "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, with or without the deadlock."
"Look, we can work this out," Rick tried to interrupt, only for Negan to do it right back while turning to Rick and raising his voice.
"Oh, yes, we can! And I'm going to—right now!" As Olivia started whimper, Negan rounded back on her, telling her, "This was your job, and you screwed up. Keepin' track of guns? That shit? It's life and death. Now, how's about you keep me company while Rick goes and looks for my guns?"
Rick walked away as Negan lead Olivia to her small courtyard. An actual courtyard in between four houses with a nice patio set. The sun was quite high and the skies were clear, so he decided to enjoy the time that it took Rick and his troupe to look for the guns sitting in the sun. It was clear that Olivia was terrified as she sat and shook and whimpered, dabbing her eyes every once in a while. Deciding to give her something else to think about because, honestly, Negan didn't like crying women, he tried to make some small talk with her.
"So, you know Ani?"
"Yes, well, well enough I suppose," Olivia replied, her voice stuttering and breaking as she spoke.
"She help you with all that in there?"
"No, not really. I already had it set up and running when she and the others arrived. She helped set up the infirmary after our last doctor died."
"Oh? How'd he die?"
"Umm, well, see, he...uh, he was hurting his wife and his kids," Olivia started, Negan about to interrupt when she told him something quite interesting. "Ani didn't mean to do it, and she was actually reluctant to come around any of us for a few days afterwards, but she accidentally killed him. When she tried to stop him from hurting his kid? I don't know all the details, but she made him hit his head on a banister hard enough to kill him. I still don't see how she could do it."
"You've never seen her in action?"
"Only against the dead. She's...scary, almost," Olivia admitted while looking at her hands. "It's not normal for someone to be able to react that. I saw her get bit almost a dozen times the night we fought off a horde..."
"You fought off a horde?" Negan scoffed, giving Olivia a once over. "Really? You?"
"I helped," she defended. "Most of us were just following Ani and Rick's leads."
"They 'lead by example,' huh?" Negan mused, remembering how she'd asked him what kind of example his leadership was making to the others under him. "I must ask, who is it that you think is the leader around here? Rick or Ani?"
"Well, Rick is," Olivia said in confusion. "He calls the shots, makes the rules, pretty much tells us how it needs to be."
"And Ani?"
"I don't know. She knows everyone, knows what's needed, who needs training, checks on all of us regularly. She mostly hunts and forages. Everyone goes to her for advice on problems they're having, even Rick, but that's it," Olivia said with a shake of her head.
"Really now? How interesting," Negan said with a chuckle as he noticed the rest finishing up loading supplies. Walking out to the truck where the last of the artillery was being loaded, he stood there for a few before Rick walked up. "What you got for me, Rick?" he asked nonchalantly as the man handed over a black sack of which contained the two missing guns, causing him to chuckle. "Well, would you look at that? They were here after all. Funny how a little, 'Holy shit! Somebody's gonna die!' lights a fire under everybody's ass," he said as Olivia began breaking down; he had to admit she'd held out longer than he expected. "So, tell me, Rick, which one of your fine folks almost cost Olivia the rest of her days?"
"It doesn't matter anymore," Rick tried to tell him.
"No, it matters," Negan said, looking him in the eye down past his nose. "See, you need to get everybody on board. Everybody. Or, we just go right back to square one." The door to the truck closing, signifying they were done, brought on another thought that had Negan chuckling and turning towards Daryl, "Oh, that reminds me, where's your house?"
Daryl looked at him and basically growled, causing Negan to look at the man and smirk before singing quietly, walking up and getting in his face, "Careful. You know what happens if you make me angry. Cold cell, crap food, workin' the fence," he whispered. "I'd hate to have to put a pregnant woman to work handlin' the walkers, but, I mean, if you don't want to cooperate..."
He left the threat open ended as Daryl looked down at the ground, a grimace firmly painted on his face. The smile that grew on Negan's face as Daryl began walking only widened when he looked back at Rick to find him looking constipated. These people were extremely fun to mess with and Negan couldn't help but wonder how someone as unmovable as Ani was actually connected to such a pussy as Rick. At least Daryl was doing it for Ani's sake, knowing what was at stake if he decided not to dow hat he was told to by him. And having both Daryl and Ani in his hands kept Rick from stepping out of line.
The house Daryl led him to was nice. The outside was white with gray trim while the inside was similarly color-oriented. The porch furniture was quite simple with a simple whicker table to go with it. The inner furniture was similarly plain. While the house itself was done in grays and whites, the furniture was mostly a rich brown with minimal decoration aside from several plants in the windows and a wall that had a bunch of Polaroid pictures taped to it. As he looked at them, he realized that it was from some sort of safe zone before this, a young girl and boy with the one handed man, Daryl, and a full-of-hair headed Ani gracing them. It reminded him of family pictures he hadn't wanted to take with Lucille's family the way Daryl was sort of sulking in the pictures, though there were a few where a smile was plainly fighting to break through. Walking into the living room, he immediately noticed the poncho Ani had asked for, going to it and picking it up and holding it up.
"This is what she wanted? This dingy old thing? Huh," Negan scoffed. "Wonder what else we can find." Looking at another wall, he saw the picture of their ultrasound and moved towards it even as Daryl began fretting closer to the wall it was hanging on. "Well look at that. It has been a while since I've seen one of those. A boy, right?" he said, taking the picture from the wall and studying it, being kind enough to put it back. "Hmm, I'm guessin' the rooms are upstairs? Leave the couch and the chairs, take the table, though," he told one of his men before looking over at Daryl. "I always did like glass."
Heading upstairs as Daryl prowled behind him, Negan couldn't help but smirk at the three bedrooms he found there. One was rather feminine in nature, not exactly girly, but a few potted plants, a few stones, and some cutesy clothes could be seen. The other one was relatively empty, a sign that no one in particular lived there, though there was a smattering of men's clothing lying on the floor inside.
"That for when you're in the doghouse?" Negan asked Daryl.
"It's for his brother when he's in the doghouse," Rick corrected after a couple moments when Daryl didn't answer, just glared.
"And this one, let me guess," Negan said, looking into the feminine room. "Phia, the girl who's hers but not her blood."
"She adopted her, for all intents and purposes," Rick clarified, Negan realizing at the same time as Rick did that Daryl wasn't about to talk. "Ani and Daryl both."
"Well, isn't that sweet," Negan said, moving on to the master suite. "Look at this! Now, this bed, I bet you've thrown her around on there a few times," he told Daryl, who stood with a glare, barely holding back his anger. "Why don't you grab your pillows off there? Load them up into my truck, hmm? Just yours. Leave hers. And take that vanity. My wives could use a new one. And oh, look at these dresses!" he said, moving into the closet and seeing the vast assortment of clothes there. "She ever wear any of these?"
"She doesn't like dresses," Rick told him.
"Now that's a damn shame. A body like hers? All that muscle and sinew. Then again, all those scars. Yeesh," Negan said with a shake of his head, raising his eyebrows before smiling at Daryl's scowl and how he tensed up barely able to keep himself from attacking again. "You know what? I'm just gonna take all these off her hands. My wives can make better use of them and no one other than Daryl really wants to see all that marring, anyway, am I right?" he asked Rick with a chuckle, the man's own glare no better than Daryl's. Negan couldn't help but laugh at the two of them and tease, "She really is such a soft spot for everyone! How is it that one person can ingratiate themselves into so many lives? Seriously? What's her secret?"
"She just cares," Rick said, unable to answer him. "Everything she's been through, she's still got a heart of gold and tries to help everyone she meets, no matter what their backstory. She tries to understand them. And once she does, once she decides you're a member of her family, that's that. She'll go to the ends of the world to keep you safe."
Negan contemplated Rick's words as they left Daryl's house, Negan throwing the poncho to Daryl and telling him to keep a hold of it until they got back to Sanctuary. He'd also picked up one of the Half Moon albums that had been on the bookshelf they had in the living room, stating he didn't have that album in his collection along with a few others. His men picked apart the collection until there were only a few CDs left, Daryl's sour face all Negan needed to see to smile victoriously. As his vehicles of supplies began leaving the community and the vehicles for transportation pulled up to the gate, Negan could barely contain his sense of satisfaction. It had been a good day. They didn't need everything they took, hell, his wives didn't need the vanity nor did he need the table. His personal bedroom was perfect, but damn if it didn't feel good taking things from Daryl. It was so easy getting under his and Rick's skins, too, with how they acted as if any slight against little Ani was a grievous offense. When a yellow van and the car that had been originally at the gate pulled in as they walked up to it, Negan began smirking.
"Hell of a place you got here, Rick."
"Give me a second," the man said, causing Negan to look where Rick had been.
"No," he told him.
"Please, can you just...give me a second?"
Negan nodded his head, thoroughly happy with Rick's adjustment to his manners. Even Ani had been a stickler to her manners when she was at the Sanctuary, Laura stating she said please when asking for anything and thank you when given anything. She looked at people in the eyes when she talked to them and wasn't one to shy away from telling the truth. Humming to himself as he thought about how manners could get someone a long way as far as making him more sociable. Hearing rather than seeing someone walking up behind him, he turned around to see an angry looking black woman with dreads, the one from career night, carrying a deer across her shoulders while Rick walked behind her with a rifle.
"Look at this!" he said as the woman walked past, stopping for a moment to stare at Daryl.
"I thought she was scavenging," Rick told him, handing the rifle over. "She was hunting. This one never came inside. We kept it near the line."
"Look at this. This is something to build a relationship on," Negan told Rick with a pleased smile. "This is readin' the room and gettin' the message. I've said it before, I'm gonna say it again. You sir...are special."
Rick looked down before speaking again, "Now that you know that we can follow your orders..."
"Yes?" Negan unctuously said.
Looking up at him and then back down before looking him in the eye, Rick said, "...I'd like to ask you if Daryl can stay."
"Not happenin'," Negan told him, surprised he was only asking for Daryl. When Rick looked like he was practically ready to beg, Negan smiled as he started walking closer to Daryl and said, "You know what? I don't know. Maybe Daryl can plead his case. Maybe Daryl can sway me. Daryl?" When the man just astutely looked down, Negan just smiled all the more and chuckled as he looked back to Rick, "Well, you tried. Surprised you didn't ask for Titania back! Now, what you gotta 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," Negan told Rick as he crept closer to the man. "If you don't have something interesting for us, someone's gonna die. And no more magic guns," he threatened. "Arat, grab that deer. It's gettin' late let's go home!" As the woman dropped the deer and walked off in a huff, Rick looked like he was about to cry at the woman's obvious anger at the situation, prompting Negan to start teasing the man. "Man, I love a gal that buys me dinner and doesn't expect me to put out!" he said with a chuckle.
As Dwight road off on what used to be Daryl's motorcycle after stopping to check with Daryl that he still refused to kneel, Negan turned towards Rick and said with a shrug, "So, nobody died. And I don't have to hurt Daryl or Titania for your stupidity. And you know what I think? I think you and I? We refined our understanding. Let me ask you something, Rick?" he said as he took a couple steps closer. "Do you want me to go?"
After a momentary pause, Rick responded with, "I think that would be good."
"Then just say those two magical words," he told the man, who looked like he was about to choke on vomit before he could speak.
"Thank you."
With a chuckle, Negan said, "Don't be ridiculous. Thank you! Another one," he said after a walker began making its way towards the gate. "You need our help. Davey, hand me that candlestick over there. You know what I think, Rick? We're both gonna come out of this winners. Watch my form!" he said as he held the candlestick like a bat and swung it, smashing the walker's face completely off in one go. "Ahh," he said, slowly turning around. "Yep. Win-win." Throwing the candlestick on the ground at Rick's feet, he told him, "Clean that up for me for next time. Let's move out!" He began walking away before he stopped again. "Oh wait! How careless of me," he said, turning back around towards Rick. "You didn't think I was gonna leave Lucille, now did you? I mean, after what she did, why would you want 'er? Thank you for being so accommodating, friend." Walking up to where he could say in a voice barely above a whisper to Rick, "In case you haven't caught on, I just slipped my dick down your throat, and you thanked me for it."
Climbing into his black truck, they headed out of Alexandria, taking a different route home. It was simple amusement and pleasure that had him chuckling the better part of the way home. Amusement in the way Daryl had been complacent simply because he didn't want Ani in a cell like him. Amusement in how Rick tried so hard to make sure everything went well even when shit hit the fan. The biggest amusement he got was from the fact that he could mess with both of them using Ani as a chess piece. Ani herself was less amusing; all that came from her were horror stories, threats, and tips. Although, he was curious to see how well she could hold true to her threats. Even if there were several people who vouched for her ferocity, there was nothing quite like seeing someone in action.