They loaded up the personnel carrier, throwing the gear in the back. The carrier was so they could load the girls they rescued, while the Humvee was to take the group there. Rick and the Major walked into the garage with a crate that he handed off to Daryl. Looking down, Daryl whistled, a big smile on his face.
"Somebody loves me." Daryl said, grinning from ear to ear.
Everyone was putting their gear in the Humvee and Glenn was set to drive the personnel carrier which they would use to transport the girls they rescued from Breed. They had emergency medical gear in the back just in case and supplies to last them up to a week in case Breed wasn't there for a few days.
Since they knew he was in the area only a few weeks ago, it was likely had he hadn't gone all that far and the farm was only a few hours from them. The plan, was to go in, get the girls, and be home by tomorrow, but they all knew how plans went.
Katelyn walked over to Daryl and handed him his emergency pack.
"I know you're excited about the tear gas and grenades, but please don't forget this," she kidded, smirking at his delight over getting to blow stuff up.
Daryl pulled her in close and kissed her, taking the bag from her.
"And that's why I keep you around." He teased, winking at her playfully.
Tossing the bag into the Humvee, Daryl looked around to see how close to done everyone was.
"Ya'll ready? I don't wanna take all week. Let's get there and get this done!" He called out, always the one chomping at the bit when they went on these "little excursions".
"I'll be back tomorrow hopefully." Daryl said, turning back to her. She hadn't said anything after yesterday, just went on pretending like nothing was happening. It was starting to make him nervous.
"Don't be too sure. I'm thinkin' more like 3 days." Glenn called out earning him a glare from Daryl.
"You got Sara and Judith?" Daryl asked, trying to distract her.
"Yeah. Carol and I are watching them." She responded absently.
"You'll be so busy with them, I'll be back before ya know it." Daryl kissed the palms of her hands and smiled at her.
"All right! Let's load up!" Rick yelled as he swung into the front of the Humvee.
Major Reese closed up the rear end and sealed it tight, patting the rear end to let Rick now it was secure.
"Time for me to go." Daryl whispered, leaning in to hug her again.
"Be safe." Katelyn said, kissing him one last time.
Daryl walked around to the other side of the Humvee and hopped into the passenger side next to Rick. Pounding on the top to signal Rick, they began to pull out of the garage.
Katelyn stood in the doorway watching them leave, a numbness settling over her as Daryl left again. She was trying hard not to feel like the world had finally pounded the final nail in her coffin, but as she watched him go, a feeling of raw sorrow filled her as the fear that it might be the last time she ever saw Daryl again took hold of her mind.
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The back roads were getting icy as the temperature dropped and they slowed down a little for safety. Within four hours they turned off onto the gravel road that led into the woods about 3 miles away from the property.
They pulled the equipment out fast, each supplied with military gear, and once they were ready, they gathered to make a plan.
"We're gonna spend the next few hours scouting, then meet back here." Rick explained and everyone nodded.
Michonne and Daryl were the fastest in the wilderness, so they took off ahead of the others. Some were staying behind to watch the vehicles and others were performing a wide perimeter search and scout mission so they weren't surprised by anyone.
The snow lightly dusted the ground, making their footsteps softly crunch the earth below. Both moved quickly and quietly toward the property, until they could see it in the distance. Pulling out the binoculars, Daryl began surveying the acreage.
He saw three buildings; the house, the stables and the huge garage. There were multiple men patrolling the grounds and many coming in and out of the stables. From the amount of action surrounding the stables, and the large heating unit that blew into the stables, he theorized that the girls were being held there.
"Son of a bitch is running a brothel in the stable." Michonne confirmed, talking through gritted teeth.
"Yeah." Daryl said, counting the men coming and going before turning his attention to the house.
"I think the men stay in the house. There's not a ton of them, but I'll bet when Breed is here, there's a lot more." Daryl stated.
"All right, let's get back and tell Rick." Michonne said, waiting for Daryl to stand before they two of them headed back.
It only took about 30 minutes to make it back to Rick and the others. Daryl was going over the mission in his head, wondering if it would be easier to get the girls out if Breed wasn't here. He knew that Breed would just take more girls and set up shop somewhere else, but the thought of making those girls stay there one more night set his teeth on edge.
"There's about 15 guys there that we could see." Daryl reported, grabbing some water to drink.
"But no Breed?" Rick asked.
"No. Not yet." Daryl said, though Rick could sense his irritation.
"Say what's on your mind, Daryl." Rick said, talking quietly to him as a friend.
"While we sit and wait for Breed to get there, those girls are being…tortured." Daryl said, trying not to think about Katelyn.
Andrea sighed, overhearing Daryl. She looked over at Merle who listened quietly as well. He knew exactly what was going on and what his brother was going to suggest.
"What if we go in there, take out all the men, free the girls and then wait for Breed. All we gotta do is lure him in close enough to kill him." Daryl said. He and Michonne had discussed the plan at length on the way back from scouting and both of them were willing to take the chance.
Rick took in the suggestion, and began thinking. Looking over at Andrea, he saw her shrug, then onto Merle next.
"Don't make much difference to me." Merle said, looked at Daryl and nodding.
"Tyreese? Glenn? Mags?" Rick asked, going around the group.
"We can try. Worst thing that happens is that Breed gets away and we have to kill him later." Glenn said.
"Worst thing that happens is that we get killed and Breed gets away." Daryl said, snorting.
"True." Andrea agreed, "But I think it's worth it, and leaving those girls in there for another day or two just doesn't sit well with me."
Rick nodded.
"All right then. We go in ten minutes. Glenn, you be ready with the carrier. From our scouting reports, we can drive straight up there with it and get all of them. Just be ready when I signal you." Rick said, nodding to Maggie and Glenn.
"We'll be ready." Glenn agreed.
"Grab your stuff and let's go!" Rick called out to everyone before they headed into the woods.