Mara sunk low behind some bramble. She thought she might have seen movement up ahead and that could mean anything. A walker, a person, a squirrel. She moved through the underbrush like it was the most natural thing in the world and she had to thank watching Daryl for giving her that skill set. No one got around the wilderness better than her honey. That's why when a twig snapped behind her she rolled her eyes.

She had to restrain herself from turning around and hissing "shh" at the person. Frank squatted next to her; the beginnings of a blush were evident in his youthful cheeks. Mara was glad she hadn't scolded him.

"Sorry," Frank said quietly.

Mara nodded her acceptance of his apology and pointed up ahead. She hoped Frank would get the point that less words were better. Thankfully Frank realised what she was doing and quirked an eyebrow in question. Mara shrugged as she continued to listen. It wasn't a person, at least not a live one.

Nathan, Chieny and Rick had all been of the opinion that scouting out the Governor and his new group of thugs was the best place to start.

"What makes you think he won't be at Woodbury?" Paul had asked.

"You don't shit where ya eat!" Merle had offered, mouthful of food. Elias had winced and put down the granola bar he'd been about to consume himself.

Surprisingly Andrea elaborated. "He's created this illusion that he's a pillar of the community. He won't want to ruin it by bringing in people like this."

Hershel nodded, "another camp then."

So they had planned to spread out and discreetly search for this camp. Mara had assumed that she would be paired with Daryl as they had always done but Nathan had said it would be a good idea to pair up with the new soldiers. To develop relationships, he said but Mara knew he also wanted people he trusted keeping tabs on what they were doing. So Mara had gotten stuck with Frank, who inexplicably managed to make her feel old despite being the same age. Maybe it was his awkwardness or complete lack of stealth, she wasn't sure.

Mara made the hand symbol for spook that all Australians knew and she hadn't had the opportunity to use since working with Daryl.

Frank nodded and reached for an arrow. Mara approved of the fact he didn't go for his gun. One walker would be easy to dispose of.

Frank stood abruptly and fired fluidly. The muscles in his biceps tensed before he released the arrow. It sailed through the air and somehow made it through the open mouth of the creature. Mara thought it was intentional and was impressed until Frank muttered a curse. Mara quickly figured out why he was annoyed. While remarkable the shot wouldn't kill, it had missed the brain.

Mara sighed and pulled her sword out of the sheath. She revealed herself abruptly, using herself as bait to lure it in close, and then with precision she removed the top of the head.

She pulled the arrow out of the gaping mouth and handed it point first to Frank who accepted it gingerly.

"No one had to know you missed," Mara said kindly, realising that Frank was frustrated by his own performance.

"So I look like a cowboy who tries tricky shots for fun?" Frank said. He didn't want to get a reputation for being reckless or wild.

"Too bad, that guy would fit in well around here," she said, thinking of all the daredevil stunts she had seen Michonne, Daryl and even Christine attempt.

Frank didn't have an answer to that so Mara clapped him on the shoulder. "C'mon, cowboy. More ground to cover before it gets dark."

...

Andrea didn't know how David could move with all those knives attached to his body but somehow he managed it. He moved with the same effortless grace that Michonne seemed to manage. He hadn't worked hard to be so good; he was just born to it.

Andrea had surmised as much quickly as she led them in the direction of Woodbury. She remembered an old warehouse being out here and it made sense the Governor might pick there to hide his new army of killers.

He was also quiet like Michonne and had barely said two words to her. His dark eyes had fallen on her when they'd been paired together and Andrea got the sense that he was silently judging her. It made her wonder how much he knew about her situation. Andrea had just lifted her chin, refusing to let herself be rattled by the scrutiny of a stranger.

They had encountered walkers and the pair of them had killed them. It had been a group big enough to make Andrea pause but nothing seemed insurmountable after that herd had descended on them.

Andrea had wanted to skirt around them but David had made a point of engaging them. She wasn't sure why, he hadn't seemed the careless type. She figured he must really hate the dead walkers.

"So do you go by Dave?" Andrea asked afterwards. Maybe he was one of those people who bonded over surviving.

"No."

Guess not, Andrea thought. They saw the old warehouse and settled down to watch. They found a place thick with long grass and sank into it. David tested the wind as Andrea realised how irritated her skin was going to get in the grass.

She watched and she prayed that she wouldn't be the one to find Phillip.

...

Paul, Merle and Christine were the only group of three. Merle had insisted on helping and even though none of them really trusted them, nothing short of a bullet was going to hold Merle in the prison. He kept threatening to go off and find them himself. Better to keep him well watched. Besides, Merle was an experienced hunter and his skills would be useful. One thing Nathan and Rick had agreed on was that Merle should not be partnered with Daryl. The Dixon brothers were volatile enough on their own, let alone together. Daryl's judgement couldn't be trusted where Merle was involved and Merle couldn't be trusted not to take liberties where Daryl was.

Nathan had wondered if the group was a smart idea. He wouldn't say so out loud but he was relying more on Paul's cool head then Christine to keep the situation under control. Merle liked pestering Christine and Nathan hoped having a source of entertainment close at hand would keep Merle from going rogue. And he was relying on Paul to regulate them.

Unfortunately Cheiny had understandably demanded some involvement otherwise this would always be Nathan's formula. Cool heads to tone down the unpredictable personalities. That's why Michonne had gone off with Yussuf. This was a recon mission after all. Still Cheiny valued good fighting above all else.

So far Christine and Merle had managed to keep the bickering to a minimum more due to Christine's self restraint and professionalism. She and Paul had taken point with Merle trailing behind, being anything but subtle and providing a running commentary on how he thought they were headed in the complete wrong direction.

Christine didn't engage with Merle beyond telling him to shut up. But privately she agreed with him. She also didn't know why he was complaining. His presence was the reason they had been sent in the least likely direction for the Governor to be in. Merle's insistence on coming along for the ride was more revenge driven than anything. He wanted to make him pay for forcing Daryl and Merle to fight each other. He wouldn't be able to stop himself from running down and taking matters into his own hand if they spotted the Governor. Paul and Christine would have to assist out of obligation and, at the end of the day, they'd all be dead...if they were lucky, that is. No one wanted to run the risk that Merle might be in the group that actually found their hideout.

Paul's temper was beginning to fray as he was on the receiving end of Merle's taunts. Christine was learning to shrug them off even though the barbs usually hit with uncanny exactness. The older Dixon brother could make a character assessment with unintentional but unnerving accuracy.

"You'll take to me eventually," Merle promised Paul after Paul took over Christine's job of telling him to shut up. "Everyone does," Merle claimed falsely.

"I haven't," Christine pointed out. She only bothered to keep her voice low because of the threat of spooks.

"Yeah but you're a dyke so that don't count," Merle said, flashing a smile he probably thought was charming but just made Christine want to smack him upside the head.

She didn't bother correcting his assessment of her sexual orientation. Instead she said, "You're right. I'm a man hating lesbian and if you don't shut up, I'll cut it off."

Paul snorted and tried to hide his grin. This attracted Merle's attention, who didn't look overly concerned with Christine's threat.

"Ya got some empathy towards the plight of the homosexual? Personal experience?" Merle drawled.

Paul flushed and he called Merle a string of choice insults.

Merle held up his hand and knife in what might have been a peaceful gesture if it weren't for the prosthetic. "Hey man, I haven't got'a problem with you people. I've wondered about my baby bro too. I can put in a good word for you if you'd like. I don't think that Mara chick is permanent."

Before Paul could splutter out any more indignations, Christine came to the rescue. 'Don't mind Merle. He's clearly battling with his own homoerotic tendencies and a desire to over compensate for something." Christine waved her pinky to illustrate.

"Smart mouthed bitch," Merle countered.

"Why thank you," Christine said, pressing a hand to her chest in an imitation of being flattered. "Now shut the fuck up so we can do this job."

Paul had looked grateful enough at her intervention that Christine wondered if Merle had maybe gotten close to the mark on him. She sighed. Unintentional, unnerving accuracy.

...

Daryl looked at Richard and wished that he'd gotten anyone else. He'd half hoped he'd be put with Mara but that had been shot to hell pretty quickly. Rick trusted him to get the job done regardless of who they partnered him with but Daryl thought it was unfair to pair him with the least liked member of the newcomers after Cheiny.

He'd quietly lamented to Mara that he couldn't have someone like Paul, who was easily more tolerable. Though if he could have heard Merle's accusations about both of them, he'd probably regret airing that desire out loud.

Daryl had to grit his teeth and resist commenting on anything Richard was saying. He wasn't sure what Cheiny's game had been pairing these two together. Daryl was big enough to admit they both had abrasive personalities but at least Daryl wasn't stupid.

Richard was more of an alpha male than Daryl and reminded him a little of Merle. So there was actually a worse pairing out there.

"So you and Mara hey?" Richard said, picking a topic that Daryl would sincerely prefer not to discuss.

"She was always pretty shit at training," Richard pointed out, not needing Daryl to talk to continue the conversation. "I guess she's kinda hot, now that she's not so awkward."

Daryl had never had to defend a woman from another man before. He'd hit Eric in the heat of the moment but that wouldn't work here. So he just stayed quiet, hoping a lack of encouragement would put an end to this direction of talk. They were getting close to town and they needed to focus.

"I would have given her one," Richard added.

Daryl wondered how Rick would feel if he returned without Richard. He could leave him tied up to a tree somewhere and just walk away. He was young and tall but Daryl was confident he could take him. Probably wouldn't go over so well but now he knew why Yussuf had seen him off with a parting whisper of, "call him Dick. He'll hate it!"

Daryl could picture Mara's face if she had been there with them. She would have been more disgusted than offended. "You would have tried," Daryl muttered, thinking about what Mara would have said.

Richard seemed unconvinced that any woman wouldn't want him but at least he shut up.

The town was quiet but Daryl knew that looks could be deceiving. They were close enough to Woodbury that this would be a logical place for the Governor to hide. He was relieved to see that Richard's expression was serious.

"We can't go down there. Too many blind spots," Daryl pointed out.

"Agreed," Richard said looking surprised, like he hadn't really thought Daryl had a brain cell to rub together. Daryl was used to that.

"What do we do now?" Richard prompted like he knew the answer and was just testing Daryl. Daryl was older than this guy by years and he wanted to tell him to go screw himself but instead Daryl calmly leaned against a tree.

"We wait."

They were mostly concealed and Daryl figured they'd wait a while here and then keep moving around the town to get different vantages. It turned out not to be necessary. They spotted two people walking to what Daryl supposed was the local bank. The town's layout was so small it was pretty easy to get a read on things.

"You think that's them?" Richard asked.

Daryl shrugged, focused on watching the men. They were both well armed and Daryl eventually saw the guns they were holding weren't standard over the counter. They looked military.

"Yep, that's him." Daryl's eyes darkened. He hadn't seen the bastard yet but he was sure that this was where the Governor was hiding. It made sense with what Michonne had told them about the army unit he decimated.

AN: So as you can see we're heading towards more action and the climax. Just some easy, maybe fun, stuff before we get back into the walking dead business.