"Hey, what the fuck ya doin'?" Merle called out in a whisper as the man with the long locks came into view a little too close to where a patrol would be heading in a few minutes.

"What?" Jesus asked as he whipped around, hands raised when he saw Merle's rifle pointed at him even as he stayed in his crouched position.

"I asked what the fuck ya doin'? You ain't one of 'em with how you're spyin' on the place and if you're here tryin' to fight against 'em, you gonna have to move, and quick. We got a patrol comin' this way soon."

"Alright," the man said as he followed Merle up into the building behind them, straight to the top floor.

"What the hell you doin' sneakin' around like that? Plannin' on gettin' yourself caught?"

"Trying to find a way in. You know of one?"

"Why?"

"I was asked to scope it out, by Sasha and Abraham."

"How's Maggie?" Merle asked, wondering if he could actually trust this man.

"Depends on who's asking?"

"Daryl and Ani's brother."

"Merle?"

"The one and only," Merle said with a smile. "Now how's Maggie?"

"She's fine. The baby's fine."

"And Bethy? How's that little lady doin'? Bet she's one twitch of the trigger finger away from comin' out here herself."

"Yeah, she's not the happiest of people right now. She, uh, she decked Gregory. Split his lip."

Merle shook his head and sighed, "Seems like everyone Ani trains one on one thinks they can do what she does."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothin' important. How's Abe and Sasha doin'?"

"They're the reason I'm here. They wanted to know where the Sanctuary was, what the layout inside is like. They want to go after Negan, and they want to keep it from Maggie and Beth."

"Smart play. But for now, you ain't gettin' in. The guard on the fence is one of the dilligent ones. Won't even be able to get close. In an hour or so, another truck will come in before another goes out. There's a spot not too far from here, low enough, they always pass by. Should be easy enough for a fella like you to get on the top. After all, ain't you the guy that pulled one over on Rick? Lost our truck of food fightin' 'im for it?"

"Yeah," Jesus said with a chuckled sigh. "That was...that was an unfortunate misunderstanding. So you've already got a plan, huh?"

"Yeah, we wait for that truck, get you on top of it. Then you get in there, you get the kids out and then meet up with me. Come on, the patrol should be past this point by now. We got somewhere we need to be."

"Wait, you said 'kids.' You mean Carl's not the only one who made it inside?"

"How'd you know about Carl?"

"I am not too proud to admit he pulled one over on me. Here I thought I was smart as a teen," Jesus laughed. "How long have you been watching this place?"

"This is the third day. I know their ins and outs from the outdoors," Merle told him as they left the building and headed back to the mechanic's shop. "The girly's supposed to meet us up here, but I'm thinkin' we need a faster getaway. Got Ani's ATV right here, the Savior's own car. They won't think too much of it parked nearby."

"What 'girly'?" Jesus asked him.

"Phia, the fourth Dixon," Merle said with a smile.

"The little girl who gave Ani and Daryl a hug before they left with me?"

"One and the same."

"Why is she in there?"

"'Cause Carl is, and we gotta make sure he gets out since he killed a couple of Negan's men. That man ain't gonna be too kind to the boy for doin' that."

"What do you need from me?"

"That car, the building you were at when I caught ya, take it there," Merle told him. "I'm gonna bring the four wheeler that way, too, park it behind the building. You're gonna wait on the second floor of that building for the truck I was talkin' about. I'll wait on the upper levels, keep an eye on that gate. Second you get through, I'll make sure to keep it clear. We get those kids out, maybe even my siblings. But the priority is the kids."

"You sound like you know what you're doing," Jesus commented before getting into the car.

"That's 'cause I do. Ani ain't the only one with any knowledge in military tactics and strategy. Hell, I dare say I've taught the little thing a few tricks of my own here and there. Now, let's get a move on. I reckin' we got about thirty minutes to get back to the buildings and get everything set up 'fore that truck comes."

They managed to get everything ready relatively quickly, Merle explaining that he'd stay in the building for as long as he could to make sure no one followed the man in or out. He needed to make sure to get to the kids and get them out if they weren't already making for the exits before he did anything else. While they all had separate missions they were on, the safety of the children that had gone inside the Sanctuary was to be the priority. Jesus understood Merle's standpoint and agreed with it completely, promising that no matter what he would get the kids out, even if it cost him his own life. It wasn't until the man had hopped onto the incoming truck that Merle went back up to the top of the building they were in.

From this vantage point, the inside of the courtyard was mostly cut off from view, but the gate and the way in was perfectly in line. The red building was just too far away to be of any help now that Sophia was inside. Merle was happy to have met up with Jesus and gotten the man inside. It had helped him get everything set up for when he brought the kids out. With any luck, Ani and Daryl would be with them, but luck wasn't something they'd had very much of lately. The most luck they'd had was honestly Jesus showing up when he did and Merle still wasn't sure how well that was going to work out. All he could do was wait with the kittens pestering him every once in a while to throw the stupid toy Sophia had brought with her for them. He'd check the other windows as well, but it wasn't until the truck finally pulled all the way into the Sanctuary that he realized he was going to have to move quickly.

"Fuckin' hell!" he yelled, watching as Jesus got off the same truck Carl was being loaded into, Daryl being dragged backwards. "Dammit all to hell and back!"

Watching as the parade of trucks and motorcycles left the compound, Merle called for the kittens. There was no more point in waiting with the big boss gone and most of the riff-raff in the compound going with him. He wasn't sure how long it would take for Jesus to find Sophia. He didn't know whether or not Sophia was already caught. And he'd promised the girl that if Negan left and took most of the Saviors with him, they would go in and get Ani and Daryl. It wasn't ideal. It was less than ideal and not at all what he wanted to do. Merle knew, though, that it was now or never, even as he cussed his way down to the ATV.

~x~

Negan had to admit, he was impressed as hell with Carl. The young man didn't say a word all the way to Alexandria as they traveled. Even when Negan tried to start up a conversation about Ani, Carl had just sat and stared out the window which only made Negan chuckle and smile before falling silent himself. It was a rare find for a kid his age, however old he was, to be ready to kill. Hell, all the kids they'd found they'd either trained if one of the soldiers took a liking to them or sent them to live with one of the workers, whether at a colony or an outpost. They weren't hardened little shits like Carl but actually kids. It made Negan wonder just what this boy had been through to be so hard at such a young age.

"How old are you?" Negan asked, his curiosity getting the best of him even though Carl just gave him a stink eye. "Come on, kid. All this time talkin' and I never once found out how old you are. I mean, you're a teenager, right? But how old?"

"Thirteen," Carl said in a humph.

"Well, I'll be. Damn, kid, you really are Bad-ass with a capital B," Negan told him, elbowing him just a little. "Bet you're at that age where girls are startin' to peak your interest. We got a few your age back at the Sanctuary. I'm sure they'd just love you and your badass eye socket just all over them. Not like you got any options back home, right?"

Carl just gave him the stare Negan was starting to think ran in the family. It was so much fun playing with the people of Alexandria. They weren't like the other colonies. The other colonies, well, they'd set up camp practically right from the beginning and didn't have to worry so much about food and supplies. But the people of Alexandria, Rick and his group, they were fighters. They'd been out in the big wide world doing nothing but fighting since everything happened. A close knit group that traveled together and treated each other like family.

There'd been only one other group like that before Negan came and took over the Saviors from Simon as his eccentric attitude had regularly made him make bad calls. One bad call in particular had lost them an entire community as he'd killed all the men and the women that remained disappeared in the middle of the night. Negan couldn't help but understand Simon's decision as that group had chosen to fight back against them, but he didn't agree with it in the slightest. People were a resource, and the more resources one had, the more chance of survival. Simon's choice had cost them quite a bit in resources, which was why Negan pushed his way to the top. In fact, it was quite humorous to know that he had not just one previous leader, but two under his belt. Dwight and his company had been the ones originally holed in what was now the Sanctuary, Negan and Simon finding the place together just before winter started.

He was thinking about Ani and Daryl back at the Sanctuary and how they should be ready to be his good soldiers by the time he got back. Ani, in particular, wouldn't be asked to do much more than make medicine and treat patients who needed her psychology degrees. Hell, maybe after the kid popped out he'd make use of her ability to fight to train a new generation of soldiers. With her in his army, by his side as second in command, they could really carve out a place in this new world and bring back some semblance of what it used to be. A girl like her backing someone like him who could get things done, he might not even have to kill people after a while. He thought about all the ways he was going to have her help him shape the new world right up until they pulled through the gates of Alexandria.

"Now, Carl," Negan said loudly as he pulled the boy under his arm. "Where's your house at again?"

He couldn't help but chuckle as the boy lead him up to his house, knocking on the door and waiting for it to open. It was the big woman from before, the one who almost got in trouble for someone else making her mess up her job, that opened the door for him. Whistling, he sauntered in hoping to find Rick but instead finding a relatively empty house. It was still nicer than anything back at the Sanctuary with the exception of his own bedroom, but where he screwed his wives had to be the best place in the factory. After all, there was nothing more fun than that, except perhaps breaking people.

Repeating 'great' several times as he walked through the kitchen and into the dining room, Negan turned to face the woman and asked, "Where's Rick?" She sputtered and started trying to say something, but he cut her off singing, "Don't care. Where's Rick?"

"Umm...Out, scavenging for you."

"Cool," Negan said, impressed as hell that the man was already working his ass off to bring him some cool stuff. "I'll wait," he told her with a smile.

"Umm, h-h-he went out pretty far," she informed him. "They might not be back today. We're running really low on everything. We're practically starving here."

If his eyebrows could have gone any further up, they would have disappeared into his hairline as he looked at her, leaned back before pitching forward while asking, just to make sure he'd heard her right, "Starving? You? By 'practically,' you mean 'not really.'"

"She has a health condition, asshole," Carl said, standing up for Olivia the way Ani would have if she was there, especially as the woman had to hide her face due to breaking down.

Negan turned around to look at Carl as she turned her back to them and asked, "Really? You people seriously don't have a sense of humor." He sighed and ran a hand over his face as the woman tried to calm herself before turning to her and saying, "Excuse me. What's your name again?"

"Olivia," she ground out without facing him.

"Right. Olivia," he said as he took a step forward and reached out to gently take her hand and spin her around. She looked at him in curiosity while he sincerely told her, "I am so sorry for having been so rude to you just now. And it looks like I'm gonna be here awhile, awaiting your fearless leader's return. And if you'd like..." he said, having been completely sincere in his apology and figuring maybe he could get something out of it, "I think it would be enjoyable to screw your brains out. I mean, only if you're agreeable to it." When her response was to slap him right across the face, he stared at her in shock for a moment before getting closer to her and whispering in her ear, "I am about fifty percent more into you now. Just sayin'." He chuckled before turning around, "Alright, well, I'm just gonna put my feet up and wait for my stuff to get here. Olivia, would you be a little lamb and make us up some lemonade? Now, I know I left you all some of that good powdered stuff."

"Well, I'm supposed to be with-" she started saying, but he simply didn't care.

"Make it," he told her. "Make it. Take your time. Make it good." She walked out of the house which caused him to smile and turn to Carl, "Alright, kid. Take me on the grand tour!"

It was hard for Carl to look at Negan in fear when the man had the same stupid smile Ani had gotten the first time they'd walked into the other house and she'd seen the carpet. Negan was absolutely thrilled to be standing in a carpeted room with his boots and socks of, his toes digging into the soft fabric on the floor. It had been quite some time since he'd felt carpet, let alone been able to take his boots off and not have cold tile greet him. Carl's face said it all as Negan smiled back at him before leaving the living room and heading back into the kitchen. Of course, his look of mild confusion became one of abject annoyance as Negan began to turn the water faucet on and off. Aside from the shower room, the Sanctuary didn't have any running water. Being shown the boy's bedroom, he couldn't help but throw a few darts, hitting the bullseye every time and somewhat bragging about it in his smile. The boy really didn't know what to think of him at the moment, and that just had Negan all kinds of tickled pink.

"How about this one?" Negan asked as they passed yet another door upstairs.

"Oh, i-it's just a water heater," Carl tried to tell him, not wanting Negan to go anywhere near his sister's room.

"Are you serious, kid? Come on," he told the boy, opening the door only to pause in his tracks.

Ani had mentioned a bunch of kids, but she'd never mentioned a baby. Her 'kids' had been mentioned, Carl being one of them, but not a baby. It took a moment before he recalled that she had said that one of them couldn't start training while the others could and would fight back, and damn if Carl hadn't proven her right. So this beautiful baby with the curly blonde hair and big blue eyes had to be the one that couldn't fight back yet. He could understand Carl's trepidation as he handed the boy his bat and walked up to the little thing in her playpen.

"Oh-ho, my," he said as he went to pick her up. "Look at this little angel! Oh, she is just darling! This your sister? What's her name?"

"Judith," Carl said tightly as he watched his sister looking to him and back at the man holding her in fear.

"Come on, you don't actually think I'd hurt this little thing of beauty, do you? I might be cruel, but I certainly am not heartless. If I was, you'd be pulp on the floor right now. Come on, let's take little Judith outside. It's too nice a day to wait around in here."

They ended up on the front porch in Rick's wicker chairs watching members of the community who cautiously walked by. It was obvious they were trying to keep an eye on the kids and make sure they were safe. Negan couldn't even be bothered to pretend to be annoyed as he sat holding the baby in his arms. There had been a baby born at one of the outposts that Negan knew of, but only the one. He hadn't been out to see the little girl yet, though he had made sure to send out all the necessities for her that she would need when word had reached him at the Sanctuary of her arrival. He'd also sent a few items for the father as condolences for the loss of his wife during childbirth. Even before the world went to hell, women were screwed to gamble with their lives just to bring in new life.

He hummed to Judith for a little while until she almost fell asleep on him, commenting, "Oh, this little girl is precious. Hey, neighbor," he said as another citizen walked by. "Why don't you come by later? We might grill out," he chuckled. "Oh, I like it here. Mm-hmm. I might just have to stay here. You know, I was thinking about what you said earlier Carl," he told the boy as he adjusted Judith in his arms to look at her angelic little face. "Maybe it is stupid keeping you and your dad alive. I mean, why am I trying so hard? Maybe I should bury you both down in one of those flowerbeds. Huh?" he asked as he cooed at Judith. "Then I could move right into the suburbs. What do you think about that?" he asked the little girl before kissing her on her forehead and bouncing her on his knee.

Carl remained silent, not wanting to anger the man who had his little sister in his arms. The little girl was so tired, falling asleep in Negan's lap as he hummed and rocked her. He really had always wanted a kid and he truly believed that they were precious. There were rules in the Sanctuary regarding kids and how they were treated. Especially the little orphans that they ran into on the road. Each one was either put under one of the soldiers as a ward to be trained, sent to an outpost to help with the odds and ends there, or sent to a colony to be given a home and, eventually, work finding stuff for him. They were each taken care of and raised to the best of the abilities of those around them, though the really little ones were adopted out to families. If the workers adopted the child, they got everything the kid needed for a year for free, plus one free meal a day for the rest of the family, whatever they wanted, so long as it was within supply limits. In truth, it was his belief that children were absolutely precious that had given Carl a pass even though he knew the boy was just going to be trouble.

"Well, let's get this little angel back to her crib. Poor thing's all tuckered out," Negan said as he carefully stood and waited for Carl to open the door for him, giving him a look with his eyebrows raised and a half smile when the boy paused. After Judith was back in her crib, he turned to Carl, "Where's your dad keep his razor? I gotta shave this shit off."

"In the bathroom," Carl said, Negan scoffing at the all but said 'duh' that came with the boy's tone.

"Well, no shit. He ever teach you how to shave?"

"I don't really need to yet."

"Aw, come on, kid! Never too young to learn," Negan said, pulling Carl into the bathroom with him before grabbing the shaving cream and lathering up. "Against the grain, kid. Always against the grain," he told him as he cleaned up the mess that had started growing on his face. "You seriously haven't even been shown this? Man, what has your dad been teaching you?"

"I know how to shoot. How to hunt walkers. How to skin and process animals. I know what I need to know to survive," Carl told him defensively.

"Oh, there is so much more to do in this life than just survive. I mean, damn. Did you never get to take a home economics course in school? That shit alone can help you make a name for yourself with the ladies. And trust me, with that socket just staring at them wide open like that, you're gonna need all the help you can get. Why don't we go down and see what you got in? Maybe I'll teach you how to make some five star food that'll make 'em forget all about what you keep hidden under that mane."

"You?"

"Me what?"

"You cook?" Carl asked incredulously as they made their way downstairs; he could believe Daryl knew how because he'd been taking care of himself his whole life, but Negan? No way.

"Hell, yes, I can, kid," Negan said as he opened the fridge and smiled. "And today is your lucky day. Got all the fixin's to make some marinara sauce right here. Where are your spices at? Pots? Pans? Let's get your hands a little dirty."

"What are you gonna have me do?"

"You, my boy, are gonna be helpin' me make spaghetti!" Negan said happily. "It is one of the easiest things to make from scratch, although, I am glad you've got boxed pasta. I can't imagine the hassle it would be to make spaghetti noodles from scratch nowadays. Now, wash your hands and start makin' the rolls."

"How do I do that?"

"Oh, kid, you seriously know nothin' about cooking? That is sad," Negan sighed.

"I can cook. I just...I've never made rolls. I can cook vegetables and meat and stew like Daryl, Merle, and Ani showed us. But...well..."

"Spit it out," Negan encouraged as Carl became flustered.

"It's not like we've needed bread. We haven't had anything like that in a long time," Carl admitted, looking at the ingredients with annoyance. "So, no, I don't know how to make rolls."

"Oh, that's easy enough. We'll take it one step at a time. You got a recipe book?"

"No."

"Well then, it's your lucky day, ain't it champ. Move over, I'll show ya how." Negan proceeded to show Carl how to make homemade rolls without yeast, melting butter and mixing it with milk, a little bit of sugar, a pinch of salt, and some baking powder until it was all incorporated together. "The trick here is to add the flour slowly, stir it in nice and slow as the dough forms."

"How do you know this?" Carl asked, only Ani and Carol having made homemade stuff like this.

"I was teacher, kid. Every year I had to teach a segment of health class for gym. Part of that included teachin' the kids how to make somethin'," Negan informed him, smiling as the dough started coming together. "Now, I'm sure you know how to use a rolling pin and how to cut out the rolls, right?"

"Yeah. I helped my mom a few times."

"Alright, get to work. I'm gonna get started on the marinara."

He grabbed several tomatoes and cut them into large pieces he then squeezed and put in a bowl. On the stove, he added some oil before returning to the cutting board to chop up some fresh garlic. Adding that to the pot, he stirred it until it had just gotten fragrant enough to make his mouth water before he added the tomatoes, juices and all. Some seasoning from the cupboard, salt, and pepper, and he looked back at Carl and smiled. The boy was actually watching what he was doing, learning something, and that just made Negan as happy as a clam.

"See? Easy peasy," he told Carl. "How we doin' on them rolls?"

"There's twenty with a little dough left."

"Good. Pop 'em in the oven. They should be ready in about twenty minutes. Plenty of time for this marinara to finish up," he said before going and filling the large stock pot with water and placing it on the stove, adding a pinch of salt and waiting for it to boil. Once it finally was, he added the pasta before heading back to the marinara and stirring it, "Damn that smells good." Tasting it, he was quite impressed with himself, "Mmm. You want a taste?" he asked Carl with a smile only to chuckle and turn away when he just stared at him. "Okay." Twenty minutes later, Negan was sitting at the table rubbing his hands together as Carl sat the settings. "We're gonna need another setting," he told the boy with a smile after he'd sat the table for Negan, Judith, Olivia, and himself.

Olivia had finally come back with the powdered lemonade and started making it, finishing it just before heading upstairs to get Judith for dinner. The poor thing must've been going through a growth spurt or something with how tired she was. Carl's surly attitude did little to curb Negan's excitement at having made a homemade dinner ready for Rick when he got back as well as having taught his kid something. When Olivia brought the lemonade over and put the pitcher down, he smiled charmingly at her while picking up his glass, implying for her to fill his cup for him. She did so before filling some for Carl, too as the boy came back with the fourth setting and placed it down. They all sat down, waiting while a pile of mouthwatering spaghetti sat between them.

After close to another twenty minutes had passed, Negan sighed and looked down, "I'm not waiting for your dad anymore. I don't know where the hell he is, but Lucille," he said as he put the bat in the place made for Rick. "Carl, pass the rolls." When nobody moved other than him folding his napkin and tucking it in his collar to keep his white shirt clean, he looked over to Carl incredulously and added, "Please."

In an anger filled movement, Carl handed him the rolls. Negan couldn't help but chuckle as he took a couple and put them on his plate before putting one on the plate in front of Lucille. He then passed the rolls onto Olivia, who still refused to fully face him. It was quite the uneventful dinner as the others in the room finally dug in only after Negan had given himself a generous serving and once again added a modest amount to the plate in front of Lucille. He knew how weird it looked, but, come on, even if the prick wasn't here, Negan wanted Rick to have some of his awesome spaghetti. The looks of general shock on both Olivia and Carl's faces when they took the first bites were entertaining and gosh was watching the baby slurp up and play with the spaghetti, getting her cute little face all messed up, it was just the most adorable thing he had seen ever. In short order, they were done eating and Negan himself helped clean Judith up.

He watched from the living room as a smartly dressed man walked up to Arat, who had been given orders to guard the house while he was having his little playtime. It was so much fun setting everyone in the house on edge, and now some asshole was trying to get Arat to move out of the way because he just wanted to talk to the big man. That was quite out of character for most of the people of Alexandria, who all wore matching expressions of disgust and anger towards the Saviors, Negan in particular. After all, it was he, himself, who had brought this entire community to its knees and made it thank him for fucking their throats. He couldn't blame them for their anger and contempt, yet here this little yuppity yup was, trying like hell to get his attention. Well, if he wanted it, he could have it, and with that thought in mind, he opened the door just as Arat told the man no again.

"Don't be an asshole, Arat," he told her with a smirk. "Let the man pass." The man walked with purpose of the steps, showing a bottle of bourbon he'd brought with him, Negan's smirk becoming a charming smile as he said, "Oh, crap! Is that for me?"

"We haven't officially met," the man said. "I'm Spencer Monroe. Hi."

"Well, hello. And what brings you here today?"

"I just thought that we could discuss a few things. Make sure we're at the same conclusion, as it were."

"Alright," Negan said, looking slightly impressed. "Why don't you pull up a seat? I'll go get a couple glasses. I'll pour you a drink." Negan went back into the house and grabbed a couple of the glasses that had gone unused at the dinner table as Carl was taking care of what was left of the food. "Told you it'd be good, didn't I?"

"Carol's is better," was all Carl had to say, even though in reality he had liked Negan's sauce better; no way was he going to tell Negan that, though.

Negan chuckled, "Ho-oh. Kid, I gotta hand it to you. You've got balls bigger than your daddy's. Hell, they might even be bigger than mine once they drop! Now, why don't you stay in here for a little bit. I'm just gonna be out on the porch." With the glasses in hand, he sat back down on Rick's lawn chair and poured Spencer Monroe a drink before doing the same for himself. "Running water, air conditioning, a house warmin' gift? That settles it," he said as he raised his glass and offered a toast to the man in the chair next to him. "I am gettin' myself a vacation home here."

"Cheers to that," Spencer agreed.

"Mmm," Negan said after taking a sip of the dark amber liquid and rolling it around on his tongue for a moment. "Oh, that is good. You know, the only thing missin' is a pool table," he lamented. "Nothin' better than a good game of eight ball."

"The house across the street has a pool table in the garage," Spencer commented.

"Oh, Spencer, you may just be my new best friend," he told the man, not knowing how his men had missed a pool table during their sweep here. "It's too nice a day to be cooped up inside some garage, don't you think. Yeah. Oh, I got a better idea!" Negan stood up and grabbed his jacket before putting it on, walking down the steps, "Arat, get a couple of guys. Pull that pool table out here in the street. We'll play some ball under the sun!"

He watched with glee as his men brought out the pool table. Arat grabbed the cues and chalk while Spencer himself made sure to grab the triangle, setting it on the table and fishing out all the balls as soon as the table was in position. Negan couldn't help but smile as he paced and watched the man get to work putting the balls in the triangle and then begin to rearrange them. It had been a good long while since he'd played pool and it really was such a nice day.

"You know, I could never do this with Rick," Negan told Spencer as the man finished setting up the balls. "He would just be standin' there, scowlin' at me. Giving me that annoying side eye he gives me."

"That's actually what I came to see you about," Spencer admitted, finally getting the chance to give his speech as the citizens of Alexandria gathered around and watched. "I want to talk to you about Rick."

Negan smiled and chalked up his cue, lining up the cue ball and his shot and saying, "Alright. Talk to me, Spencer," before taking his shot. "Talk to me about Rick."

"I get what you're trying to do here," Spencer said as he watched Negan line up another shot. "What you're trying to build. I'm not saying I agree with your methods, but I get it. You're building a network. You're making people contribute for the greater good. It makes sense. But you should know that Rick Grimes has a history of not working well with others," he informed Negan.

"Is that so?" Negan asked as he finally missed his shot, letting Spencer have his turn.

"Rick wasn't the original leader here. My mom was. She was doing a really good job of it. Then she started listening to Ani not long after Rick showed up, then Rick. And then she died. Same with my brother. Same with my dad. We had a doctor, a good surgeon. Ani killed him. My mom said it was an accident, but you don't accidentally kill someone with one kick. They're not good people."

"So, everything was peachy here for, what? Years?" Negan asked, even though it hadn't even been a full two years since the world had gone to hell. "And then Rick and Ani show up and suddenly you're an orphan. That is the saddest story I've ever heard," he said lazily, taking a sip of his drink before lowering himself to take his next shot. "Good thing for you he's not in charge anymore."

"Doesn't matter," Spencer countered. "His ego's out of control. He'll find a way to screw things up, to try and do things his way to take over. Him and Ani both. That's what they did with my mom. That's what he'll do again," he informed Negan as he bent to take his shot, Negan coming to stand next to him as he straightened up.

"So, what exactly are you proposing be done about that?" he asked the man, realizing exactly why he had actually decided to talk to him.

"I am my mother's son," Spencer said confidently. "I can be the leader she was. That's what this place needs. That's what you need."

"So I should put you in charge, that's what you're saying?" Negan asked with his own charming smile as the man smiled at him.

"We'd be much better off."

"You know, I'm thinkin', Spencer. I'm thinkin' how Rick threatened to kill me, how he clearly hates my guts," Negan said, thoroughly disgusted by this waste of space that couldn't even be bothered to do the dirty work himself. "But he is out there, right now, gatherin' shit for me to make sure that I don't hurt any of the fine people that live here. He is swallowing his hate and getting shit done," he said slowly. "That takes guts," he said before he took his shot. "And then there's you. The guy who waited for Rick to be gone so he could come get me to do his dirty work so he could take Rick's place. So I gotta ask—if you wanna take over. Why not just kill Rick yourself and just take over?"

"What? No, no. I didn't—I don't," Spencer tried to defend, clearly not having expected Negan to catch onto what he was saying or simply thinking Negan would tell Rick he was no longer in charge.

Negan himself didn't know if the man was stupid enough to think that there could be a change of leadership without death or if he was just the dumbest man on earth in general as he cut him off, "You know what I'm thinking? 'Cause I have a guess. It's because you got no guts," Negan said as he pulled out his big hunting knife and cut a line right across Spencer's abdominal cavity, the man's intestines spilling out as he watched, slowly dying as he held onto his own guts. "Oh, how embarrassing," Negan said as Spencer fell to the ground. "There they are. They were inside you the whole time. You did have guts," he started in on a sarcastic tirade. "I've never been so wrong in my whole life! Now, someone oughta get up here and clean this mess up!" When no one moved, he raised Lucille and pointed it at the crowd watching what had happened and smiled, "Oh! Anyone wanna finish the game? C'mon. Anybody? Anybody? C'mon! I was winning!"

The last thing he expected was for the woman closest to him, the one who had stared at Daryl for just a little longer than he should've let her, to pull a fucking gun out! She'd had it aimed and fired before he could even react, honestly before he'd even noticed what she was doing. It had been pure, simple, unadulterated luck that had allowed him to escape unscathed, but looking down at Lucille, his precious bat, all he felt was rage. Arat had moved at the same time as Negan started on his rampage, tackling the woman and putting a knife to her throat.

"Shit!" Negan said as he really caught sight of the bullet lodged in Lucille and raged, almost bashing the woman's head in right then and there in his anger. "What the shit?! Shit! You just—You tried to kill me? You shot Lucille!"

"She got in the way!" the woman countered, causing Negan's blood to boil all the more.

He took several steps back and a couple calming breaths as something caught his eye. "What is this?" he asked as he held up a shell casing. "What is this? This little bad boy made from scratch? Look at those crimps. This was homemade. You may be stupid, darlin', but you showed some real ingenuity here. Arat, move that knife up, out on that girl's face. Lucille's beautiful, smooth surface is never gonna look the same, so why should yours?!" he hollered. "Unless," he paused. "Unless you tell me who made this."

"It was me," the woman said. "I made it."

"You see, now I just think you're lyin'," Negan told her with a smile, running his tongue along the inside of his teeth. "And you lyin' to me? Now?! Such a shame. Arat's gonna have to cut up that pretty face. One more try."

"It was me," she told him, leaning up right into the knife and cutting herself in the process.

Negan couldn't help the chuckle that came out of him as he smiled down at her, "Oh! You are such a badass! Fine. Have it your way. Arat...Kill somebody."

"No, no!" the woman screamed as Arat put her knife away and pulled her gun. "No! It was me! No!"

It didn't matter though, Arat had her gun pulled and aimed, the bullet firing right into poor Olivia's skull. Negan sighed and thought about how Carl had been standing right there and this woman just had to make a scene in front of the poor kid. It was bad enough Carl'd been watching as that Spencer cat had tried to throw Rick under the proverbial bus and got what was coming to him. Now, his babysitter was killed right next to him. Poor kid just could not catch a break in Negan's eyes, and it was all the fault of the people around him. He was half tempted to take Carl back to the Sanctuary and keep him there to keep him safe from these people's piss poor decisions. Instead, he just stood there and smiled as several of his men pointed their guns at the citizens of Alexandria who had made to move, noticing Rick walking up through the crowd.

"We had an agreement!" Rick accused as he stormed up to Negan.

"Rick!" he said quite joyous and hoarse all at the same time. "Look, everybody, it's Rick. Ah, you're people are making me lose my voice doin' all this yellin'. Now, Rick," he whispered. "How about a 'thank you'?" Rick looked like he was closer to decking Negan than thanking him, prompting the man to say, "I mean, look, I know we started this relationship with me beating the holy shit out of one of your friends, and because of that we're never gonna sit around and braid each other's hair or share our deepest, darkest secrets, but how about a little credit? I just bent over backwards to show you how reasonable I am. Your kid?" Negan informed Rick, who looked like he was constipated upon hearing the news. "He hid in one of my trucks and machine-gunned a bunch of my men down, and I brought him home, safe and sound, and I fed him spaghetti. Taught him how to make it. And then another one of your people-" he said, pointing down to Spencer's body. "Well, he wanted me to kill you and put him in charge. I took him out! For you! And another one, here," he said pointing to the woman sitting on the ground. "She shot Lucille just now tryin' to kill me, so I gave you one less mouth to feed. And by lookin' at her, that mouth did some major damage. Now, personally, I wouldn't have picked her to be the one to go, but Arat, psshh," Negan said while shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know—didn't trust her or somethin'."

Negan waited with a smile as Rick tried to form the words thank you, only to surprise Negan by instead saying, "Your shit's waiting for you at the gate. Just go."

"Sure thing, Rick...right after I find the guy or gal who made this bullet," he told Rick, holding up the casing. "Arat..."

His suggestion had Arat aiming at a man holding onto a heavily beaten man, who tried to shield him as another woman stepped forward and yelled, "It was me."

"No," a terrified and almost childish voice rang out, almost childish in the fact that it was much too deep to be an actual child. "It wasn't." Negan watched as a man with a mullet, crying like a baby and obvious so scared he was almost pissing himself, removed his hands from his face and said, "It was me. It was only me."

"You?"

"It required one spent casing, one four-holed turret reloader, powder, one funnel for the powder-"

"Shut up," Negan said, stopping the man's explanation. "I believe you," he whispered in his ear before walking back over to his people and raising his bat while closing his eyes. "Lucille, give me strength," he prayed, picturing his wife in his mind as he tried to calm down some more before sighing. "I'm gonna be relieving you of your bullet maker, Rick. That and whatever you left for me at the front gate. And however much you scavenged, it's not good enough. 'Cause you're still in a serious, serious hole after today. Let's move out!" he shouted to his men, the woman on the ground screaming for him to just take her instead of Mullet. "Rick, I ain't gonna lie. Your kitchen, is a goddamn mess," he chuckled. "I'll see you next time."