Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Twilight and the Walking Dead. Those rights are reserved for Stephanie Myer and Robert Kirkman. I do own the original characters created for this storyline. Please support the official release.
Writer's Notes: Thank you everyone for your kind words. I really appreciate all of you. It's going to be a hard journey but I'm hanging in there. Writing helps me process things in my life. So I will continue on. Again thank you everyone for your support. Don't forget to follow, favorite and review!
Rick crossed his arms thinking about the Saviors and the information that Bella got. She had made it back to Alexandria and Daryl was upset that she sent Jasper and Sam back without her. It was dangerous of her to just walk into the Hilltop without any backup, but Rick trusted Bella's abilities.
"The Saviors aren't good people. From my understanding and what Jesus had told me, is that the Saviors take more than half their resources. If they don't meet those quotas, then people get hurt badly or worse. These people are worse than your every day run of the mill bandits." Bella explained.
"You said there were children there, families?" Glenn asked.
Bella nodded. "I saw children playing. They have livestock. Goats, chickens, some horses, it looked like from what I could see. They have been sustaining themselves. Plenty of crops too."
Daryl shook his head. "Why would you go there without having backup first?"
"I know how to handle myself." Bella said, only glancing at Daryl. She didn't feel like arguing about it with him right now. "I left a walkie at the power station on route 44. I told Jesus if he wanted to discuss options about the children, then he can contact us there. I wasn't going to give up our location." She said and then sighed. "Listen, we want to expand here. I say we try to absorb the families that want to come to Alexandria."
"I'm concerned about the Saviors too. Why don't we just take out the Saviors before they can cause too much issue? Open up trading prospects with the Hilltop. You said they have crops." Rick suggested.
Bella shook her head. "Instigating a war is risky. So many things can go wrong. We should work on defenses, only strike if we have to defend, but otherwise, taking on a group of people that we have little information on, especially on how many people they have… just isn't a safe choice."
"But if we wait and they attack and they do have more people than we do, then can't we just be easily overrun?" Rick asked.
"It's easier to defend." Bella said and sighed. "Look. I have experience in special warfare. I know how this game works. You don't need a large army to win a war and I'm not going to run into any traps or jeopardize our people, our home for bandits and thieves. I want to keep Alexandria safe. We're building a community here. We need better defenses. Start thinking about moving those tanks in from DC and scavenge turrets. Build the watch tower on the North, South, East and West points of the community. Ammo is a big deal. Setting traps to protect our town."
Rick thought about it and nodded. "You're right."
"Of course she's right. She's been through war before." Glenn said and crossed his arms. "Alright. I'll take Abe and Sam with me to DC. We'll pull back the two tanks we can get too, look for other supplies. Quick in and out."
Bella nodded and looked at Daryl. "Daryl, you and me and we'll take… Eugene."
"What? Why Eugene?"
"Because he can make bombs and I want him to get the materials he needs to make them." Bella said. "We'll raid the base. I know it's going to be risky, but the three of us can get in and out the back entrance to bring little attention to ourselves from the walkers. Rick, you and Michonne work with the others to mark off the spots for four watch towers. I'll talk to Jasper, maybe him and Carl can scope out the perimeter outside the wall for weak points."
Rick nodded. "Carl has been wanting to help more. He'll be up for that."
Bella smiled. "Yeah, he's thirteen now right?"
Rick nodded with a smirk. "Yeah, but he thinks he's grown." He looked at Daryl. "What do you think?"
"I think, I'll do whatever Bella tells me to do. Sounds like a solid plan. In and out. We leave at first light?" He asked.
"Yeah, gives us time to get to DC and back before nightfall." Bella said and then looked to Glenn. "Check on Maggie first. I don't want you running on a run if she's going into labor soon."
Glenn smiled softly. "Of course. Gotta run it through the wife first anyways. I'll come find you later if it seems like I need to sit this out."
"Good deal. We'll leave in the morning." Bella said then Rick and Glenn left, leaving Bella there with Daryl. They were quiet a moment before Daryl walked over to her and ran her hands down her arms. "I don't like these Saviors. It worries me."
"I know. I can see that." Daryl said and then leaned in a kissed her. "I'm sorry I got upset. I hate that you put yourself in danger. I know you can take care of yourself, but… anything can go wrong. I love you."
Bella smiled and leaned in and kissed him softly. "I love you too." She murmured.
In the morning when the sun started it's climb in the sky, Bella, Daryl and Eugene got ready in the van while Glenn, Abraham and Sam took the truck and trailer. Maggie reassured Glenn that she was fine and wouldn't have the baby right this minute, so he decided to do this last run.
Bella checked to make sure she had all her gear and then she climbed in the van, Eugene in the passenger seat while Daryl climbed into the back of the van, Zeus hopping up along with Angel and they settled in before they drove away from Alexandria and headed towards DC.
Once they got close to base, Bella stopped the van, and they all got out. There were walkers lingering in the streets, but they quietly dispatched them as they continued. Bella used hand signals to talk, not wanting to speak. Talking could draw attention to them and she didn't want to do that. They slipped in the rear of the base and worked their way towards the armory. Bella was fast, efficient, as she slung her knives with extreme accuracy and she didn't flinch or hold back when it came to fighting the walkers. Daryl was always in awe of her every time he watched her take down a walker. Eugene was still spooked by walkers somewhat, but he was getting better. Angel and Zeus flanked Eugene, acting as a guard as they moved. The armory had a few walkers inside, but Bella and Daryl handled them with ease. Now that they were shut inside, Bella spoke.
"Alright. Eugene find materials you need. Be quick. Zeus stay with Eugene." She said to Zeus and Zeus sat down next to Eugene, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he went on guard. Angel went with Daryl and Bella as they moved towards the back. There was a large combination door lock.
"What's this?" Daryl asked.
Bella smiled and went to the safe and turned the large cog mechanism. She put in the combination and then the door opened.
"Special forces… I always forget you know more than any other military person." Daryl said with a smirk.
Bella smiled and walked inside. "I knew that other guns would be scavenged at the main armory. Not many people know about this. Only Army Rangers would know, maybe some Seals, but this is where specialty weapons are kept along with some other standard issues." She explained and looked around the room. There were guns on the walls and on counters. There was dust on everything, which was a great sign.
"Holy shit. Why didn't we come here before?"
"It was always in the plans, but I wanted to make sure we had the wall fixed. We have ammo, but this kind of weapons… we'll need everything we can get. Grab those duffels. We'll fill them up. Try to carry everything we can and I'll lock this safe back." She instructed and Daryl went and grabbed the duffels. They didn't waste time loading up. Bella grabbed grenades, her best friend. There were several different types.
"What's this?" Daryl pointed to a large gun on the wall.
Bella smiled. "RPG. It's not a bad idea." She said and then moved to some lockers. She grabbed some gear out of it. "Military grade bullet proof vests." She said and waggled her brows. "This is very helpful." She said and grabbed what she could fit.
Daryl smiled, seeing her light up like a kid in a candy store.
When they were finished, they left and Bella closed it shut. Angel was sporting a new canine vest that the bomb dogs wore in the field. They grabbed another for Zeus and they found Eugene loading down ammo. There were other chemicals and powders that Bella wasn't going to question, so she let him do his thing. Bella fit the vest on Zeus and leaned up and took a look around. "Alright. Eugene, how long you got?"
"Finishing up. Um grab the launcher missile case. I found a tactical sniper rifle too." Eugene said and Bella smiled at him and turned and grabbed it, opening the case to look at it.
"Damn, this is sexy." Bella said, eyeing the rifle. "Alright. Let's hustle. Get this back to the van and let's get back to Alexandria. I don't want to spend more time here than we have to." She said.
Eugene nodded, finishing putting stuff in the bag and zipped it. "Let's go."
Back at Alexandria, Bella hopped out of the van when Jasper and Rick approached. "Hey guys, we got a large ammo cache. How's the towers and the wall?"
Rick nodded. "I got the four spots plotted out, I'm thinking reinforced steel. There is a construction site not far off. I figured if we can get a flatbed started, we can transport materials. Spencer said that's where his dad got a lot of the metal panels, so we need to see what's left."
"Me and Carl found a couple weak spots. I think that we can just reinforce it with a couple beams. The expansion wall on the back side is ready to be started. We have some metal panels, but like Rick said, we'll need more. There's some trees that need clearing. I figured Abe and I can start on that, pull some guys to help with it and then use the logs for livestock. Expanding is a good idea. Give the cows more room. We have two heifers and a bull and one of the cows is carrying. So, it's good idea to keep raising our beef that way. I want to take another farm trip. Find another farm. I know on the other side of DC there were some farmlands. I think we stand a good chance to find some more that way, unless we want to drop south." Jasper explained.
Bella blew out a breath. "Alright. We'll cast a wider net. Move in a fifteen mile circle around DC. Go from there. Rick, you and Daryl take the construction yard. I'm going to have Jessie and Carol help Eugene logging ammo into the armory." They heard the sound of tanks and they went to the gate to see Glenn in the truck carrying what looked like turrets inside the truck and then on the trailer there were wooden crates. They slid the gate open so he could drive in then Abraham and Sam positioned the tanks right outside Alexandria, pointing away from the town and climbed out of the tanks. They came through the gate and Bella shut it back. "Fuck yeah. You guys got them started."
Abraham was smiling wide. "Hell fucking yeah we did. But that's not even the best part. Look at what we found." He said and they all gathered around the trailer while Glenn got out. He opened the lid on one of the boxes and Bella looked inside.
"Holy shit." Bella said. "No fucking way." She shook her head. "You're not blown up, so you loaded this okay."
"Well, dynamite can be unstable, but this is that new stuff and there's a shit ton of C-4." Abraham said still smiling so wide.
Bella shook her head. "You boys, are insane." She laughed. "Alright, carefully get this stuff over in the armory." She said and high fived Abraham.
It was a great haul, and they were one step closer to making sure they had the firepower for a great defense.