Michonne's eyes snapped open when she heard footsteps approaching her cage. She was sitting on the small wooden bench, her back leaning against a steel locker, her hands still handcuffed behind her. Although she hadn't been sleeping completely, she did tune out for a few minutes to her complete surprise. It wasn't like her to relax in the presence of her enemies.
"Stand up" a smaller woman ordered Michonne from the other side of the cage. The woman's dark brown eyes looked Michonne up and down. Her kinky hair was braided into a short french braid, and she held a rifle that was half her size. She looked like a force to be reckoned with, but on the other hand, so was Michonne.
Michonne sat quietly on her bench and studied the woman. She wanted to be defiant, but for what? She had agreed to come here, she had offered herself to these people in exchange for a trade deal with Alexandria, and if she hadn't they probably all would be dead. She sighed slightly but stood as directed.
"You give us any trouble and I will end you" the woman warned before swinging the cage door open. "Come with me."
Michonne held her bound hands behind her as she followed the woman out of the cell and into a long hallway. Others who were going about their business in the factory shot Michonne dirty looks, but they didn't do more than that as she kept pace behind the gun toting woman. After a brief walk, she finally opened a door and entered it, holding it open for Michonne to follow.
Michonne stepped into a room designed for meetings. A large table took up the majority of the room, with 10 chairs that surrounded it and made it even more cramped. A window on one side let in a little light, but the room was still dank, overcrowded, and gray. Michonne's eyes swiveled from side to side in hypervigilance.
She noticed Rick standing by the chair at the head of the table, and when she saw who was standing next to him shock and then rage flooded her body. She instinctively tried to reach for her sword, but her handcuffs and the fact that she was unarmed frustrated her further. Still, she ran at Merle full force before Sasha or Rick could stop her. Taking him by surprise, she crashed her shoulder into his chest, making him bowl over in pain, and then slammed her knee into his crotch.
"Fuck!" Merle screamed, and Sasha came up behind Michonne and grabbed her arm, pulling her back, but Michonne shook herself free and launched another kick at Merle's legs.
"Stop it!" Rick shouted, wedging himself between Michonne and Merle, "calm down!"
"He tried to kill me!" Michonne screamed, trying her best to maneuver around Rick to get at Merle again. Rick was amazed at how much fight she had, even while handcuffed. Sasha grabbed Michonne's arm again, but she slipped out a second time.
"Hey! Hey!" Rick shouted at her, and then he grabbed Michonne's wrist tightly. An electricity she had never felt before tingled up her arm at his touch. It was enough to command her attention, and her eyes snapped to his in shock. His blue eyes held her gaze for a few seconds longer than she liked, but she snatched her arm out of his grip.
"Don't you ever touch me again!" she shouted at him while retreating backwards a few steps.
Merle painfully pulled himself into an upright position, still protectively shielding his crotch. "Goddamn girl, still got that spunk huh?" Merle muttered.
"You know her?" Rick asked Merle, still trying to figure out the connection between the two. "You could say that" Merle admitted.
Rick looked back at Michonne, but she only stared at Merle, her eyes wide and her lip turned up in a snarl.
"This bitch was in Woodbury with me and Andrea. We picked the two of 'em up together." Merle confirmed.
"You knew Andrea?" Rick asked Michonne.
Michonne's eyes widened more. Knew?
"Yup she did" Merle answered for her. "She and Blondie spent the winter together. All cuddled up in the forest. My Nubian queen here had two pet walkers. No jaws, kept them in chains."
Both Michonne and Sasha's eyes narrowed simultaneously at Merle's 'Nubian Queen' comment. Realizing he'd pissed the both of them off, Merle raised his one hand. "Didn't mean nothin' by it. But she was Andrea's bestie until she up and left Woodbury."
Michonne was burning with curiosity about how Rick seemed to know Andrea, and why they were using the past tense when it came to her, but her hatred for Merle kept her focused.
"Why did you attack him?" Rick asked her about Merle.
"Why are you even asking her?" Sasha asked, annoyed. "She and her people killed a bunch of our people. Why are we even keeping her here? We should've shot her and gotten it over with." Rick studied Sasha for a moment. Ever since she'd lost her brother Tyrese, and her boyfriend Bob to walker bites, she had been cold. She was constantly angry and he knew it was how she dealt with her grief.
Michonne turned around to look at Sasha who stared back.
"Hey, look at me" Rick said again, demanding Michonne's attention. "Why did you attack him?"
"He. Tried. To kill me." Michonne emphasized again.
"Obviously I didn't finish the job" Merle said, his eyes wandering down to her thigh where he knew she'd been hit. "I'm surprised you're alive, looked like I got ya good."
"Why did you try to kill her?" Rick asked, intrigued by this story.
"Governor wanted her dead. She threatened him with her sword. I didn't ask questions beyond that."
"Where's Andrea?" Michonne asked Merle, her skin still crawling at the sight of him, but she had to know what had become of her friend.
"She's dead" Rick answered, and Michonne's eyes returned to him again. "The Governor shot her himself, right in the chest."
Michonne sucked in a breath at the news. Andrea was dead. Shot by the very man Michonne had tried to warn her about. The fact that she was right all along didn't take away the sadness that welled up in her at the thought of what had become of her friend. She could feel her eyes begin to itch, a sure signal that she'd start crying soon, but she instantly pushed all of that down. Now was not the time.
Rick didn't miss the fact that Michonne was trying to hold back tears. He noticed her constant blinking, and the way she kept swallowing. She obviously had a deep connection with Andrea, one that Rick was fascinated to learn more about, but they had more pressing matters.
"Merle, you alright?" Rick asked, as the man finally seemed to be able to stand upright normally.
"Just fine" Merle said with a long look at Michonne. "Been quite a while since a woman's done me in that badly. Actually… the last woman to kick my ass was you. Glad to see you're consistent."
Michonne glared as Merle chuckled to himself.
"Sit down" Rick ordered Michonne, gesturing to a chair at the table.
She cut her eyes at Merle one more time before slowly lowering herself into a chair.
Rick nodded at Sasha that she could leave, and then sat in the chair at the head of the table, across from Michonne. Merle chose to stand behind Rick, which annoyed Michonne greatly.
So now he's someone else's lap dog Michonne thought.
"We went back to your town to look for some things that'd be of interest to us. The only thing your people have a lot of is guns." Michonne looked on quietly as Rick spoke. "So that's what we're gonna take."
"Take?" Michonne asked.
"Yea. As payment for the slaughter of my people."
"That's not what we agreed to" Michonne said firmly. "That's not why I'm here. We're trading, which means you give us something back in exchange."
"I don't think you're in the position to argue…"
"I don't think you know who you're dealing with" Michonne said, cutting him off. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "My people agreed to trade with yours. If you're going back on the deal then I'm leaving. You say my people don't have anything to trade but guns. What do your people have? Obviously not much if you're so dependent on Hilltop. But it's in both of our interests to make this work, because if you try to take from my people, they will fight back. And you've already seen what we can do."
Rick clasped his hands together and leaned towards Michonne. "Are you threatenin' me?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Are you threatening me?" Michonne countered, her stare just as intense.
Merle looked back and forth between the two with a smirk, enjoying the show, and interested to see what would happen next. The tension in the air was palpable. The two of them stared each other down for a few more seconds, until Rick broke their stare first.
"So what do you suggest we trade then?" he asked, folding his hands and leaning backwards.
"Your people have guns, but do you have bullets?" Michonne asked. "Guns without bullets are pretty useless."
"And your people know a place we can get them?"
"Let's just say we can supply you with them."
"How?" Rick asked.
"That's our business. But if we traded bullets with you, what could you give us?"
Rick glanced over at Merle who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Merle could sense the tension between the two at the table, but he could also sense something else between them. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but the way they spoke to each other revealed more than the words they were saying.
"We have clothing" Rick said to Michonne. "We can trade that."
"Clothing for bullets?" Michonne asked skeptically, turning her head to the side.
"You wanna prevent a war, right?" Rick asked.
Michonne narrowed her eyes at Rick. She knew that her people were getting the short end of the deal, but she also realized she didn't have much to bargain with. It was clear Rick's people outnumbered her own, and she didn't want to get her people into a situation worse than they already were in.
"Fine" she said, "but let me tell my people what the deal is."
"Hell no. She ain't goin' back there" Merle cut in.
Ignoring Merle, Michonne continued to talk to Rick. "Let me talk to them. If they see I'm okay, and that we have a deal, they may be more cooperative."
"I'll think about it" he responded quickly, almost cutting her off. Michonne furrowed her brow and looked off to the side in annoyance at his dismissive tone.
"You gonna tell me where your people get their bullets from?" Rick asked.
Michonne smirked and shook her head from side to side. "Just know we have them, and know how to get more."
Rick had to admit, the woman before him was smart, and knew how to bargain. She had to be the leader of the town, the way she was fearless, and respected by the others around her. She was the only one to come up with a plan the night before, and even though she was alone here at the factory, she held her own, even when surrounded by enemies. Even Merle seemed to have a begrudging respect for her.
Rick abruptly stood, causing Michonne's body to tense. He realized he'd startled her, and instinctively began to apologize when he stopped himself.
"Stand up" he commanded her again. She slowly stood, her hands still handcuffed behind her back. Rick walked over to the door and gestured with his head, "follow me".
He led Michonne back to her cage and stood behind the open door, waiting for her to enter. Reluctantly, Michonne stepped inside, but when she passed Rick he held her wrist that was behind her back. Again she felt the jolt of electricity run up her arm, and she spun around angrily.
"Sorry!" Rick said when he realized he'd touched her after she told him not to. "I just wanted to take them off" he said about her handcuffs.
Michonne slowly turned back around and allowed Rick to uncuff her. She couldn't believe how sensitive she was to his touch. Just the few seconds that their skin met caused her to flush a deep red. She was thankful that her skin tone hid the reaction she was having to him.
It wasn't like she hadn't been touched by anyone in a long time. Negan had touched her lots of times, but she'd never felt anything like she felt when Rick touched her. She didn't even know how to describe it.
Get a grip Michonne. He's literally holding you prisoner. This is not the time to catch feelings.
She spun back around and he was still standing in front of the cage door, watching her.
"While you're here, no one will hurt you. That is, unless you try somethin' stupid. Or your people try somethin'. I'll find someplace for you to sleep. I know that bench isn't very comfortable. If you cooperate, you'll be alright. More than I can say for my people" Rick threw in.
Michonne took his jab at her with a nod, she knew she deserved it. She stepped away from the cage door and Rick closed and locked it. He stood there a second longer as if debating if he should say more, but he turned and walked away.
***can08writer***
"Explain to me again why that girl is here?" Merle asked, crossing his arms against his chest. "She and her buddies slaughtered our people. Including Glenn in case you forgot. But you just have her taking up space in our storage locker."
"We have a deal with her people."
"We have the advantage, we don't need a deal. We go to their town, take 'em out. Take what we need, call it a day. Hilltop will fall back in line with them gone. Just like before."
"We're not gonna do that" Rick said.
"And why the hell not? We got the people."
"We can get more out of this new group if they're alive. Especially if they know where to get bullets. You know we're almost out. That has to be how they killed off our people at the outpost so easily, they must've run out of ammunition. If we use up the last of our bullets to kill the Alexandrians, what's gonna happen when Hilltop decides to rebel against us again? What's gonna happen when they realize we have no more ammunition to clear their roads? No. She offered us bullets and we can't refuse. Really, it's the one thing we need right now."
"So the fact that you're sweet on her got nothin' to do with it then?" Merle asked.
Rick tried to look surprised at Merle's words, but he never was a good liar. He was just disappointed he hid it so poorly.
"Hmmph" Merle grunted. "She's already got you under her spell."
"We need this deal" Rick said harshly, ignoring Merle. He and Merle had grown to realize that they needed each other to survive, but it was a love/hate relationship. Merle had saved Rick's life on many occasions on the road, and Rick had saved his as well, but there were always times when each wondered why they bothered to put up with the other.
Merle smirked at Rick, seeing that he was getting under Rick's skin.
"Fine. Keep the deal with that girl, but think with your head and not your dick."
***can08writer***
After Rick left, Michonne sat on the bench in her cell and was left alone with her thoughts. She knew her people were depending on her to make this deal work. If the amount of people she'd seen in the factory was any indication, Rick had enough people to destroy Alexandria twice over.
The people at Hilltop were no help to them, they were the ones who'd hired the Alexandrians for help. She knew that finding a trade deal was the only way to prevent her people from being slaughtered. Eugene, one of the Alexandrians, had brought up the idea of making bullets months ago. He said he'd seen a bullet manufacturing factory in the yellow pages not too far away from the town and he'd thought he could figure out how to do it. No one took him too seriously, but now Michonne was counting on his theory to become a reality.
They had to find a way to make bullets. It was the only thing Alexandria had to trade. Eugene had never been a man to do well under pressure, but she hoped he could handle it and come through.
A movement out of the corner of her eye caught Michonne's attention. A small figure was making its way towards her, she recognized the outline of his Sheriff's hat. She stared at the small boy as he walked up to her cage silently, his right hand drumming on the handle of a pistol that was strapped to his belt.
Rick lets this kid walk around with a gun? She thought. Then again, the kid looked like he could handle himself. He wore a Rocket Dog shirt and jeans, with his oversized Sheriff's hat. Something a kid his age would wear. But the serious, calculating expression on his face sent shivers down Michonne's spine. She could tell he'd seen his fair share of violence, and he wasn't fully a child.
For a brief moment she wondered if Andre had survived this world, would he be like that too? A child in body, but a hardened survivor in his mind? She hoped he wouldn't've, but she knew that this world was no place for a child's innocence.
The boy stood in front of her cage glaring and tapping on his gun. His eyes bounced back and forth as they searched her own, as if he were trying to make a decision. He stood there for a few minutes as Michonne stared back.
"Take a picture next time, it lasts longer" she said in regards to his staring.
He blinked rapidly and then narrowed his eyes again, resting his hand firmly on his gun.
"I'm deciding if I should kill you" he said, tilting his head as he stared. Michonne nodded in understanding.
"And?"
"I think maybe I will. You killed a bunch of our people."
"I did" Michonne confirmed.
"You deserve to die."
"Maybe" Michonne answered.
"Aren't you scared?" Carl asked.
"No, not really" Michonne admitted, "but I don't think killing me would be smart on your part."
Carl held on to the bars of the cage with his left hand, while his right still rested on his gun. "Why not?" he asked.
"Well, for one thing, if you kill me I'll haunt you forever. If you think the walkers are bad, imagine a ghost that you can't kill. If you kill me, I will spend every moment of my afterlife following you, and trying to scare you. Especially at night when you're all alone. I will spend every bit of energy I have jumping out at you and driving you crazy. You'll regret the day you killed me. Really, the satisfaction of murdering me is not worth the grief I'll give you."
Carl stared at Michonne for a moment in disbelief. He couldn't believe she was really joking with him. A small smile involuntarily slid across his lips.
"A ghost? Really?" he scoffed disbelievingly.
"Yup" she said. "It's probably better for you if you leave me alive and in this cage. Less stress."
The boy slowly removed his right hand from his gun and sat on some equipment across from the cage, crossing his arms against his chest.
"You killed our people. My dad should've killed you out there. He shouldn't've brought you back here."
"Is that what you would've done if you were him?"
Carl snorted at her question. "Yea. I already know you can't leave bad people alive. You'll always regret it later on."
"That's smart" Michonne agreed, "but your dad seems smart too. He seems to know what he's doing."
Carl narrowed his bright blue eyes at Michonne distrustfully. "Why'd you do it? Attack us? We didn't do anything to you. And you killed good people."
Michonne looked away from the boy. She had been asking herself the same thing. When she and Negan had agreed to Jesus' deal she understood why she was doing it. Jesus said the Hilltop was being controlled by a bully, it seemed straightforward. To the Hilltoppers, Rick and The Family were conquerors. But now, she couldn't help but think all of their problems could've been solved if they'd just talked to each other.
"It was a misunderstanding" she admitted. "We didn't know who you were. We assumed we did… your people weren't innocent, but what my people did wasn't right either. Everyone is just trying to survive. Haven't you hurt someone because you thought you had to?"
The boy's eyes suddenly went dark. He dropped his crossed arms, and looked down at the floor, slightly kicking at the concrete with his sneakers. In that moment, Michonne remembered she wasn't speaking to a battle hardened survivor, but a young kid who was pretending to be a man.
"I've hurt people before. I've killed people. They deserved it. If I didn't do it they would've hurt me, or my dad, or my sister."
Michonne was surprised to hear the boy had a sister. Rick had two children in the midst of all of this? How did he keep them alive?
Carl spoke as he stared down at the floor. "I killed them so they wouldn't kill me. Some men on the road, they tried to… they would've hurt me… I don't feel bad about what I did to them. But my mom…"
Michonne's heart dropped at the agony on the boy's face.
"I killed her. So she wouldn't turn. I think about it all the time."
No wonder the kid acted so tough. He was tough. She could tell he'd been through some things, but she'd had no idea how much. He'd shot his own mother? Where was Rick? Why didn't he protect him?
"That must've been hard" Michonne said, shaking her head. "I'm sorry."
"My dad doesn't believe in heaven anymore. Or God. I heard him say that once when he didn't think I was listening. But sometimes, sometimes I want to. I want my mom to be there. It's so sad if she's not. If she's really just… gone. Do you believe in heaven?" he asked Michonne.
"I don't know. I used to, but I stopped believing when I saw what the world had become. But I hope I'm wrong. I hope everyone who died, even the walkers, are happy somewhere else. If there's a heaven, there's some hope that I'll see my son again some day, and I want to believe that."
Carl slowly rolled his eyes upwards to meet Michonne's. After a few seconds he nodded and began to walk away from her.
"Hey kid" she called, and he turned around sharply.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Carl" he replied, "what's yours?"
"Michonne" she answered. "Do you still want to kill me?"
"Not today" he replied, and walked off.
***can08writer***
Negan paced back and forth in one of Alexandria's brownstones as a handful of Alexandrians deliberated what they should do next. The Family had been watching them like hawks ever since they returned to their town under armed guard. The Family's forces were set up around town to make sure the Alexandrians didn't get any ideas about attacking them again, and the townspeople were forbidden to congregate in large groups. Which is why they had to sneak secret meetings in smaller groups and then spread the word from mouth to mouth.
In this particular meeting, Negan was joined by Spencer, Olivia, Denise, Eugene, and a few other nameless Alexandrians, all of which he'd had enough of.
"They have guns" Olivia whispered, her eyes glazing over with tears. "What can we possibly do?"
"We have guns too" Spencer said, "but they're watching everything we do. They're watching the armory. I don't see how we can get to them. And even if we did, they outnumber us." Spencer turned towards Negan. "You should've known all this before you made that deal with Jesus. You put us in the middle of this mess. I think this deal with The Family, this trade, is the only thing keeping us alive right now. Michonne being with them is keeping us alive."
Negan spun on Spencer, his rage finally finding a target to release on. "No one could've fucking known how many people they had. Even Jesus didn't know that. And Michonne is NOT staying with them. I've sat here and listened to y'all do nothing except talk about how scary The Family is for the past 20 fucking minutes. What ideas do you have about getting Michonne back? None? Well fuck y'all then. I'm gonna go get her back whether you whiny ass cowards are on board or not."
"Negan, you can't! You'll put us all in danger!" a man said.
"If you think I'm gonna let that man keep her as a prisoner as we all sit here and twittle our thumbs, you got another fucking thing coming." Negan said, his anger radiating off of him in waves. He felt guilty for agreeing to Jesus' plan, guilty for dragging Michonne into it, and guilty for not realizing how badly thought out the attack on the outpost and The Family in general was. And now Michonne was paying for his thoughtlessness. He wouldn't have it. He would get her back or die trying. "Are any of y'all coming with me? Or do I have to do this whole fucking thing by myself?"
The others bowed their heads, unable to look Negan in the eyes.
"Negan, Michonne wouldn't want…" Spencer began, but Negan who was just looking for someone to unleash on, made a fist and whacked Spencer across the face, dropping him to the ground like a rock.
"Fucking pussies" Negan cursed, as he stormed out of the townhouse.