Chapter Four

Michonne sat in AGD's courtyard by herself, still reeling from Andrea's unexpected visit. She wished she could say it was good to see her old friend. However, the experience had only made her sad and more anxious than ever.

Andrea was in way over her head and didn't even know it.

It's not that she wanted anything bad to happen to Andrea. But there was only so much you could do to open someone's eyes to the monsters lying in wait for them. Andrea had made her choice when she'd walked in on Michonne's confrontation with the Governor, the man's personal hard drive destroyed (except for the copy she'd lifted) along with many of the physical files he kept in his office that served as a cover for his more sinister dealings. In the corner, a stash of guns and drugs spilled onto the floor. The evidence had been all around them, at her feet, within her fingertips, right in front of her face.

Except Andrea had closed her eyes to it all because the Governor offered stable, albeit ethically suspect work, cool fringe benefits and a comfortable bed.

After all of that, it didn't seem right for her to come strolling into the AGD offices, talking about truces and collaborations she wasn't even authorized to offer. Hell, she'd only been at Woodbury a short time and she acted like she ran the place. But it wasn't her hubris that had Michonne so upset—that was something she actually found endearing about her old friend. What did not sit well with her was Andrea's willingness to believe the worst of her; to think that she'd left Andrea over petty jealousy and pride after everything they'd been through together. it stung to hear accusations of spreading lies and sabotage when it was Andrea's new confidante that had wreaked havoc and continued to put his Woodbury employees at risk with his shady dealings and power plays. She hoped that revealing how The Governor had sent Merle to "neutralize" her provided something to think long and hard about as Andrea figured out her next move and rationalized how her loyalties and good intentions would play out.

Maybe Andrea had been projecting her own shortcomings or she really was that naïve. It didn't matter because it still hurt.

Michonne swiveled around to lean back against the picnic bench and sighed. Approaching footsteps broke into her thoughts. She watched as Daryl Dixon spotted her and then walked carefully towards her.

She didn't know what to make of Rick's "goon", his right-hand man and the brother of the bastard who had terrorized her only a few weeks before. He was gruff, cranky and suspicious but she could tell that he was loyal to Rick, despite the field trip he'd gone on with his brother. Although he was pulling double-duty on the chaos currently unfolding with the Governor, he usually handled most of the site visits and vendor appraisals for the company, and she could see why he'd be good at it. It was straightforward work and he knew his stuff. The foremen who usually operated those areas for clients responded way better to men like Daryl than a lot of other corporate types, including Rick.

And she'd be a lying fool not to admit that Daryl Dixon had a pretty sexy way about him. His charm came from having no idea how appealing he appeared to those pulled in by his quiet attractiveness. He had a solid, muscular build packed into a lean, powerful body. There was a sweetness to the way he interacted with Carol and Beth or the playfulness with Glenn. He normally ran around the office in his dirty work clothes but when the man cleaned himself up, he turned into a sight to behold.

She'd entertained thoughts of maybe acting on her interest but, even if she thought him a normal enough guy, he still seemed like a good ole boy, especially if his brother was anything to go by. And it wasn't as if she'd be around for long to capitalize on the impulse either.

Michonne actually liked AGD, more so than she would have expected. It was a subsidiary that functioned like a small business. The people were hard-working and mostly nice. Decent. However, with Rick Grimes running things, she didn't see herself having much of a chance of staying. She was trying to make herself useful, both because they had common goals and because she had no better alternative. Yet she also aimed to prove to them how useful she could be in case she wanted to linger for a while before going back out on her own. So far, Rick seemed pretty set on her presence being a temporary one and booting her out at soon as they cleared up this Woodbury business. Michonne had good reason to believe Hershel would go to bat for her but everyone knew it was Rick's call.

Daryl was carrying a file and, when he eventually stood next to her, dropped it by where her arm rested on the table.

"Rick wants you for a run tomorrow. Told me to drop off the info and make sure you're ready."

Michonne's temper flared a little at that. "I don't need a nanny to tie my shoes for me. Just tell me what I need to do and I'll get it done."

Instead of getting mad, the man grinned a little, the slightest upturn to his mouth. "That's the way things work for everybody 'round here. Rick's got Hershel preppin' him before goin' on the road. I get Carol breathin' down my neck and you're stuck with me." He didn't seem all that upset with babysitting duty for which Michonne was grateful.

"Your brother must love that," she challenged.

"He aint the boss 'a me. Although I'm kinda the boss 'a him these days. Talk about pissed off." Again with that adorable grin. She could get used to seeing this side to him.

"You coming too?" she asked.

He shook his head. "Naw. Carl's gonna tag along though. It aint too early for the boy to learn something and he seemed to take an interest since you'll be hittin' up Rick's old worksite."

Michonne nodded. So Rick was opting to keep her close. Interesting. She could handle the leader's suspicions. She wondered how the boy's presence would change things though. There were times she'd spot the younger Grimes around the office and it always pulled at her heart. The kid was clearly struggling, still trying to make sense of his mother's death she'd heard from the gossip mill. It made her want to reach out and connect with him, let him know that he's not alone and would get through this.

Picking up the folder, she flipped through it and then set it down again. Daryl still stood in front of her. Michonne looked up at him, curious as to why he'd remained at her side, looking so serious.

"You go over that and drop by 'fore the end of the day to make sure you got what you need." Nodding again, Michonne stared off into the distance, the silence stretching as Daryl stood his ground. When she didn't engage him further, he shuffled and kicked at the ground a little. "Hey, you okay?"

Her head snapped back to him, trying to judge his intentions. He seemed sincere enough and he made no move to leave. She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering if he was trying to dig up dirt about her and Andrea after what had gone down at the meeting earlier.

Daryl finally took a step back. "Hey, I'm just askin'. Aint no skin off my back. It's just shit got intense earlier is all."

"Well, I'm not going to jump ship and run off if that's what you're getting at." Now she was pissed. She got that she was on probation or whatever but she'd done a lot to prove her worth in these last few weeks and didn't appreciate the suspicion.

"Good to know," Daryl fired back. "And if I'd been worried 'bout that I would'a said so. I aint like you fancy lawyers. I say exactly what I mean."

Michonne stared at him and tried to calm herself. Maybe she had read the situation wrong, but no one could blame her for that. In truth, she couldn't trust anyone right now. But if she wanted to hedge her bets, she couldn't afford to be a jerk to people either.

"Sorry. I'm just a little on edge after everything. And I'm okay," she added, offering a small smile.

Daryl used that as in invitation and took a seat next to her. "Me and Andrea weren't best buds or nothin' but we got along before. I guess I didn't expect things to go like that either. Thought maybe she'd see reason."

She smirked over at him after a beat. "Nice tactic, threatening to burn down the rest of the Governor's private stash the next time you see him."

"You liked that, did you?" he replied, humor in his eyes. "The man's going down. We may be smaller and newer but he aint just gon' get away with tryin' to push us around."

"Good," Michonne said. "I've known men like him and they're a disease." She recalled trying to explain that to Andrea and it falling on willfully deaf ears. "I don't even understand why he's bothering with AGD. It's not like you're even in the same industry." Woodbury mostly dealt with technological product development, lots of copyright and patent work in addition to R&D. AGD worked mostly with industrial processes for farms—most of their business was with small agricultural companies and farming communities. There was no reason to feel threatened by anything going on with AGD. They could both live peacefully without worrying about the other infringing on any profit shares or their respective client bases.

Daryl scoffed. "He's fuckin' with us because he can. Aint much more complicated than that. All my life, I've known men like that too, including my brother." Michonne conceded the point.

They sat in silence, soaking up the warmth of the afternoon. There were only a few people milling around. She could see part of the parking lot in the distance and spotted Merle's motorcycle propped up at the curb beside Daryl's truck. She wondered if Daryl had the urge to wander over and just take off for the day, leave all this madness behind for a few hours. The thought had certainly crossed her mind.

"I don't know what's up with this trip tomorrow but I'd mind my Ps and Qs if I were you. You been doin' your part 'round here. Aint nobody gon' deny that. But if you wanna stick around, you gon' have to win over a few more folks."

She wondered about his 'a few more' comment. Did that mean that he trusted her, that she'd won him over? Since returning from their adventure out at Woodbury, she'd gotten along fine with Hershel and his daughters. She regularly worked with Glenn who, along with Maggie, was grateful to her for alerting the others when they'd been taken by Merle and Woodbury's other security thugs. Merle's continued presence was a sore spot for the both of them, despite Merle's ridiculous attempt at an apology (Glenn was still waiting for his). The woman from HR, Carol, was suspicious but not overly hostile. And there was still Rick. The man was clearly going through some stuff right now from what she'd seen and heard.

But she hadn't hoped to win over the quiet, rugged second-in-command, especially given her sour relationship with his brother. It seemed simply too generous to hope for, despite the advice he'd just freely given.

She turned his words over in her mind again. "Is that a warning?"

Her tone was more casual than defensive and Daryl picked up on that. "Just a suggestion." He propped himself up and walked off, a glance towards the parking lot before heading back to the building's entrance.

Picking up the folder that he'd left, she raised herself up as well, determined to get over her bad mood and get back to work. When she met up with Daryl later, she wanted to be prepared. If she hadn't already earned his trust, she wanted to at least put herself in the best possible position to make her case.

He'd given her a lot to think about.

TBC ...