They pulled off to the side of the road right at the Limon exit to make a plan. They didn't know much about the city, so they were debating a scouting trip before entering but were nervous about splitting up.
"Michonne and I can go." Glenn offered, having already talked to her about going with him. She was the one person he didn't worry about slowing him down and she was quiet and handy as hell in a pinch.
"I'm not sure splittin' up is a good plan." Rick said, scratching his head.
"Well, I can already see a couple of stores and some restaurants from here. It looks like there's a Wal-mart of Home Depot or somethin' up there." Glenn said, using the binoculars to scan the edge of the city.
Rick paused for a second to think. If they could get inside a Wal-mart, they could park at the loading docks and use the warehouse area as their base for now.
"All right. Either store is fine. Check it out and see how many walkers there are in the area and inside. I'd like to use the stock area in the back as a base because we can bring the vehicles inside and have our own exit and entrance if we need it." Rick said, thinking about how to protect the group.
"All right." Glenn nodded, loading his gear up. "We'll take the station wagon. It's the smallest car anyways."
Rick nodded and helped him clear out the equipment except survival packs for both of them in case of an emergency.
"We'll wait for you over there." Rick pointed at a small housing development where they could hide the cars in case Breed's people were around.
"See you in a while." Glenn said as he and Michonne climbed into the car and started driving toward the city.
They drove slowly, watching the roads carefully for any living or dead. They passed many of the rickety walkers as they ambled about, stumbling over their own limbs. Michonne even saw a few that seemed frozen, moving nothing but their heads as they slowly turned to watch them drive by. They pulled up into the parking lot of the Home Depot and drove around to the back to the loading area. Glenn noted the fenced in area they had quartered off for the greenhouse and the ramp for loading and unloading the dock in the back.
"Over there." Michonne pointed at an area where they could drive into the warehouse itself after they found a way to open the door. Parking close by, he and Michonne grabbed the bolt cutters and walked toward the back door. It was locked, but Glenn realized that there had to be a door somewhere that was open so they moved around to the front.
A few stray walkers moved about, one even started making its way toward them but tripped over the curb, and fell to the ground. Michonne watched it in fascination as it tried to stand again, but gave up and started dragging itself across the snow dusted grass toward them.
"Here!" Glenn called, prying open the automatic doors with a crowbar.
Michonne and Glenn moved quickly, entering the store, then turned and shoved the doors shut. Quickly looking around, he saw no one, realizing that the store had probably been locked up since no one came to work.
"Let's go aisle by aisle." Glenn said and Michonne nodded, her katana ready in case they needed it.
It took an hour to clear the front of the store before the two of them made their way to the back area where they found two entrances into the stock warehouse. Entering, they saw stacks of crates and boxes and began meandering their way through, clearing it of any danger.
It was completely empty.
Heading to the back, Glenn found the truck entrances and pulled the chain to the lower dock so they could drive the trucks inside.
"Found a remote!" Michonne yelled to Glenn as he drove the station wagon insde.
"Good!" Glenn called, stopping the car. "Let's go back and get everyone before it gets dark. We're gonna need to clear this completely and Rick's gonna want to check it himself."
Michonne nodded and the two headed back to round up the group.
#################################################################################
Daryl and Merle heard the motorcycle behind them and pulled off behind a barn. The driver hadn't seen them, they realized, as it sped by. Daryl recognized his jacket right away.
"Shit!" He swore, earning him a startled look from Sara.
"One of Breed's boys?" Merle asked, a sinking feeling hitting his stomach.
"Yup." Daryl answered, pulling out behind him. Looking over at Sara who was awfully quiet, he knew that she had heard of him and wasn't too pleased either.
"I say we catch up and run him off the road." Daryl said, looking at Merle.
Merle nodded.
"We better get him before he meets up with the others though." Merle added and Daryl put his foot on the gas pedal, pushing it all the way to the floor.
Sara looked scared and a worried expression crossed her face.
"You know him?" Daryl ventured, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer he got.
Sara nodded, tears springing to her eyes.
Daryl nodded.
"He the one that gave you that shiner?" Daryl asked.
"No. One of his gang." She answered, shivering at the thought.
Daryl took a deep breath, focusing on the road ahead. He could just make out the cycle up ahead now and was hoping they'd sneak up on him but the truck just wasn't fast enough. They'd have to tail him until he stopped, then Daryl could use his cycle to catch up and shoot him.
The three paced behind him, keeping back far enough that he was unlikely to see them, until the evening came and he disappeared. Pulling over, Daryl unloaded his motorcycle and strapped a couple of their guns to him and a shotgun in the cradle of his saddlebags.
"Just keep coming up behind us. By the time you catch up, he'll be dead hopefully." Daryl said, looking at Merle.
"All right, little brotha. Be careful." Merle was actually worried about him but knew they needed to get rid of this guy and it was their only way.
Daryl climbed on his bike and looked back at Sara.
"You stick with Merle. He'll keep you alive. If somethin' happens ta me, you two find the group and Sara, you go with them. Ask for Katelyn and stay with her. Tell her who you are and that you were with me." Daryl said, feeling a wave of sadness wash over him at the thought of not ever seeing Katelyn again.
Sara nodded rapidly. She liked Daryl. She trusted him. He was a good guy and she knew she was safe with him. She felt sad as she watched him ride off.
"Come on, little sis." Merle said, slugging her in the arm playfully before hopping in the truck to follow behind.
Daryl pushed his bike as fast as it would go, until he saw the taillights of the other cycle. Pulling up behind, he saw the guy look back, then slow up. In the dark, it was obvious that he was on a motorcycle and the guy probably thought it was one of Breed's men.
His mistake.
The guy slowed down and pulled over, waiting for Daryl who pulled up beside him.
BAM! The gunshot cracked through the air as the bullet ripped through the flesh of the guy's leg. Daryl didn't want to kill him yet because he wanted information.
Stalking over to the guy who lay on the ground underneath the cycle, he stood over him with the gun in his hand.
"Hi there." Daryl said, kicking the guy's hand as he tried to reach for his gun.
"You got some talking to do." Daryl said menacingly as he squatted down next to the guy's head.
"What…what d'you want?" The man blubbered, spit running down his face.
"You work for Breed?" Daryl asked quietly.
The man nodded, but Daryl wanted him to speak so he kicked him again.
"Y…yeah." He answered, crying now.
Daryl heard the truck pulling up behind him and motioned for Merle.
"Stay in the truck." Merle said, knowing this could get ugly.
Sara nodded, afraid to watch the scene unfold.
"Well, well, well. Who do we got here?" Merle asked as he walked over to his brother.
"J…Juke." The man answered, babbling now.
"What the hell kind a name is that?" Merle asked dramatically.
"Now my brother here's my…interrogation specialist. You answer my questions and he won't hafta ask them." Daryl said, threatening the idiot who lay on the ground.
"Okay….okay." Juke agreed, shaking with fear.
"Where's Breed's base of operations?" Daryl asked.
"Burlington. He's in Burlington now." Juke answered.
"How much area does your little gang cover?" Daryl asked, wanting to know how far he reached.
"He's got Nebraska…and the northern part of Kansas, and the southern part of South Dakota. He's b…big. Real big." Juke babbled, almost incoherent now.
"So whadda ya doin' out here in the sticks?" Daryl asked him.
"I was followin' a group a people that killed some o' ours." He answered.
Daryl looked at Merle for a minute.
"Describe 'em." Daryl said heatedly now, his heart starting to pound.
"They…they got an accent like yours. They drivin' two big black SUV's and a wagon. They got lots of firepower with 'em." He answered.
Daryl took a deep breath trying to calm himself.
Was it possible? He couldn't help but wonder.
"You get a name?" Daryl asked pointedly.
"N..no. We got into a fight back on the interstate. They were holed up in a log house and they shot their way out. Killed half the group that found 'em and wounded a bunch more. B…Breed wants 'em now. They settin' up an ambush in Limon. They're on their way to the Springs….please don't kill me. I won't tell Breed I saw you." Juke begged.
Daryl let out his breath, feeling excitement for the first time.
"Unfortunately, we don't have that choice. You might tattle on us and we can't risk that. Sorry." Daryl said, standing.
He aimed the gun at Juke's head, took a deep breath and fired.
Juke died instantly.
Daryl raced to the car and jumped in. All he could think about was Katelyn getting ambushed by Breed and his people.
With shaking hands, Daryl started the truck again and peeled out, going as fast as he could to get to Katelyn in time.