"Jeffrey…Grimes?" Daryl asked with a puzzled look on his face.
"Sounds like you heard that name before," Jeffrey said.
"Maybe."
"Mind telling me where you're from? You don't seem like a local."
"Used to live in Georgia. Close to Atlanta."
"Anywhere near King's County?
"Maybe."
"Have you ever met or heard of Rick Grimes?" Jeffrey asked. Daryl headed for the stairs as Jeffrey ran to catch up with him and they headed downstairs. "You have. You know who I'm talking about."
"Drop it."
"Look. The reason I'm asking is because he's… Rick's my brother."
"He never mentioned havin' one."
"See! This proves you do know him! What about his wife, Lori? Their son, Carl?"
Daryl kept walking as they came to the bottom of the stairs and he headed for Katherine. Katherine saw the angry look on Daryl's face and he barely shook his head.
"What are you going to do about the power?" Jeffrey asked, walking to Claudia.
"Guess I'm going to have to speak with Tomas," Claudia said with a sigh.
"Who's Tomas?" Daryl asked. His mind replayed the prisoner with the same name back when they lived in the prison and he frowned.
"He is Hernandez' second-in-command….and his brother."
"Great," Katherine said with a sigh.
"Do you think he'll listen to you when you explain what happened?" Daryl asked.
"Only if we bring him his brother's body," Claudia said.
"He might not believe Hernandez was killed by those things out there," Katherine said.
"Does he have any video equipment?" Daryl asked.
"Why?" Claudia asked.
"She means this," made them turn around and Peter walked to them. He had a DVD disc in a plastic case in his right hand and he stood next to Katherine.
"Where did you get that?"
"Mark made it," he said and he handed Katherine the plastic DVD case.
"Thanks," Katherine said.
"Where are Mark and the others?" Claudia asked, but Peter ran off and she sighed, flexing her fingers. She looked from Daryl to Jeffrey when she started walking, turned and looked at them. "Let's go dig up Hernandez."
After Katherine handed him the plastic DVD case and he placed the plastic DVD case in the pocket of his denim jacket, Daryl and Jeffrey went to follow her and Claudia softly growled.
Hernandez' camp
Daryl sat in the back of the jeep with the body wrapped in a tarp while Claudia drove and Jeffrey sat next to her. Daryl thought back to when he, Rick and Michonne had taken Merle's body back to the prison after Daryl had to put down Merle's Walker form and they buried him in the grave they made for Carol. He looked at the high, white cement walls which surrounded Hernandez' camp and the armed guards walked on the catwalk above the iron gate.
"This place used to be a power plant," Jeffrey explained, turning back to look at Daryl.
"How'd they keep it runnin'?" Daryl asked.
"Some of the guys are electricians. They were able to get the generators running and they sell power to places like the lab."
"Jeffrey….," Claudia warned as she stopped the jeep.
Daryl glared at her then he watched the guards heading for the jeep and they had their rifles pointed at them. The iron gate opened as a tall man with a lean build, dark hair and eyes and a rugged face walked toward them. He wore a white linen shirt, a black leather belt, jeans and knee high, dark leather boots. His hair was wavy and hung loosely around his shoulders and mirrored lens sunglasses sat on the top of his head.
"What are you doing here, Chica?" Tomas Hernandez asked in Spanish.
"I'm here to drop of your brother's body," Claudia said in Spanish.
"That's nice of you. Concerning you killed him."
"No. The Apocalipsis killed him."
"They wouldn't have if you had just given him what he wanted."
"He knew the laboratory was ours."
"But you no longer have a leader."
"How did you find that out?"
"Our contact told us."
"Was this contact Doctor Matthew Becker?"
"Dunno. Jose was the only one who talked to 'em," Tomas said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"Then I will tell you what I told him. The laboratory is under the protection of Cardinal and Bishop."
Daryl noticed the slightly stunned look on Tomas' face as Tomas cleared his throat and moved from one foot to the other.
"Prove it," Tomas said.
"Go on," Claudia said as she looked back at Daryl. "Prove it."
"Wait! He is one of them?!"
"Yep. He's Cardinal," she said with a smug look on her face.
"Shit."
Daryl got out of the back of jeep when he walked to Tomas and Tomas saw the hard look in Daryl's eyes.
"Speak English?" Daryl asked.
"Yeah," Tomas said in English.
"You got any workin' video equipment?"
"Why?"
"Got somethin' to show you."
"How do I know it's legit?"
"Gonna have to trust me."
Tomas locked eyes with Daryl for a few seconds, but Daryl didn't flinch or blink.
"Follow me," Tomas said. Daryl followed Tomas to the guard station as the guard opened the door and they walked inside.
Tomas led Daryl to the desk as the man sitting on the desk chair stood and Tomas pointed to the desk chair with his hands. Daryl nodded as he sat down, carefully removed the plastic DVD case from the pocket of his denim jacket and Tomas pushed the button on the console. The DVD holder slid out and Daryl placed the DVD in the holder. The DVD holder slid back as they looked at the screen and the footage of his brother's arrival at the lab, his conversation with Claudia and the attack of the Apocalipsis appeared on the screen.
"Shit," Tomas grumbled while Daryl looked at him and Tomas leaned against the console. "Jose. You asshole."
Daryl knew how Tomas felt as he stood and they headed for the doorway. They left the guard station as Tomas headed for the jeep and he looked at the tarp.
"The woman with you in the video. Who is she?"
"Bishop."
Tomas sighed as he lowered his head and blinked his eyes a few times.
"I… I wanna see him," Tomas said, softly.
Daryl moved the tarp back as Tomas looked at the body of his brother and he noticed dirt and grime embedded in the dried blood.
"We had to dig him up," Claudia said.
"Why does he have a hole in his forehead?" Tomas asked as he looked at Daryl.
"He asked Bishop to put him down," Daryl said.
"That doesn't look like a bullet hole."
"She used one of her special crossbow bolts."
"What's so special about it?"
"It had fishhooks embedded in it. She grinds the fishhooks around before she pulled it out."
"Shit. She sounds like a badass."
"Yeah."
"Bring him inside," Tomas said in Spanish to the guards and the guards carefully lifted Jose's body out of the back of the jeep. They watched the guards go by the gates as Tomas looked at Claudia and she waited for him to speak.
"Are you gonna stop messing with the power to the lab?" Claudia asked in Spanish.
"Yeah. Go," Tomas said in Spanish then he looked at Daryl. Tomas nodded his head in thanks as he headed for the gate and the iron gate closed after he went inside.
"Let's go," Daryl said as he hopped into the back of the jeep and Claudia started the engine. He looked back at the iron gate after Claudia had turned the jeep around and the jeep headed down the road.
The laboratory
Mark sat on the high back chair as he looked at the screens and Peter, Chandler and Nikki sat on the other high back chairs.
"They're back!" Mark said with a smile.
"Is Daryl with them?" Caroline asked.
"Yeah."
"Want us to distract them so he and Mrs. MacManus can make a run for it?" Peter asked.
"If you don't mind," Connor said as he leaned his left hand on the console.
Outside, the jeep came to a stop as Claudia, Jeffrey, Katherine and Daryl got out of the jeep and they headed for the sliding doors. The sliding doors stayed closed as Claudia looked at the security cameras over the sliding doors and she frowned. She removed the walkie-talkie from her belt while Jeffrey looked at his feet and Daryl looked at the security cameras.
"This is Claudia. What's going on with the doors? Are we in lockdown?" she asked then let go of the button.
"No. We're not on lockdown," Fernando's voice said.
"Then why aren't the doors working?"
"Dunno. Hold on."
Claudia looked at the walkie-talkie while Daryl noticed a door appearing in the wall and Chandler appeared from behind the door. Daryl glanced over at Claudia when he tapped Katherine's left shoulder, pointed to the door and he and Katherine carefully walked to Chandler. Smiling, Chandler opened the door a little wider.
"You're the reason the doors ain't workin'?" Daryl asked as he and Katherine slid by the door and Chandler smiled. Rolling his eyes, Daryl snorted a laugh and Chandler shrugged his shoulders. The door closed just as Claudia noticed Daryl and Katherine were missing and she growled.
"Where did they go?" Claudia growled and the sliding doors opened. She placed the walkie-talkie back on her belt and she and Jeffrey walked in the building.
In the bunker, the sliding doors opened while Chandler, Katherine and Daryl walked in the room and Nikki ran to Daryl. Daryl picked her off the floor while he held her in his arms and she hugged his shoulders while placing her head against his head.
"How did things go with Tomas?" Caroline asked, walking to her brother.
"He agreed to not cut the power," Daryl said as he adjusted his hold on Nikki.
"Did you show him th'video?" Connor asked.
"Yeah."
Caroline noticed something in her brother's eyes and he arched an eyebrow.
"Did somethin' happen?" Caroline asked.
"Claudia told him the laboratory is under Cardinal and Bishop's protection," Daryl said.
"Why the hell did she do that?!" Murphy asked.
"Leverage. If they think Cardinal and Bishop are here? They'll keep the power running and leave the laboratory alone," Katherine explained.
"That's all well and good. But we ain't stayin'," Connor said.
"Yeah. We found what we came fer. We're outta here," Murphy said.
Caroline and Katherine noticed the hurt look on the kids' faces and Daryl felt the guilt and concern coming from his sister.
"Uh, Guys….," Caroline said and Murphy, Connor and Daryl looked at the kids.
"When I said we're outta here?! I meant all of us," Connor said as he held up his index fingers.
"But only if you wanna," Murphy said with a grin.
"Does that include me?" made them turn and Jeffrey walked in the main room.
"How did you get in here?!" Katherine said as Caroline went to get her crossbow and Murphy and Connor aimed their guns at him.
"Who do you think helped their parents set this place up?" Jeffrey asked while he placed the panada backpack on the large, white metal table in the center of the room then looked at the kids. "Hey."
"Did anyone see you?" Chandler asked.
"Nope."
"What about that trackin' device in yer arm?" Murphy asked.
"What about it?"
"You coulda jus' lead Claudia straight here."
"Not if I removed it," Jeffrey said as he rolled up his sleeve and they saw the bandage covering his right forearm. "Had it removed before I came down here. Gave me a local. Gonna hurt like… It's going to really hurt once the sedative wears off,
A blue light moved over his forearm as he stood still then the blue light faded.
"Medical scan completed. Tracking device for Jeffrey Grimes has been removed and deactivated," the female computer voice said.
"Grimes?" Caroline whispered to Daryl after walking to him.
"He says he's Rick's brother," Daryl whispered.
"Did Rick ever mention him?"
"Nope."
They watched while Mark and Peter climbed onto the high back chairs and Peter checked the screen.
"All clear," Peter said, looking back at them.
"Your last name's really Grimes?" Caroline asked.
"Yeah," Jeffrey said as he rolled his sleeved down.
"Why does that matter?" Katherine asked.
"Know someone with that name," Daryl explained.
"Knew it," Jeffrey said while walking to Daryl, but Caroline didn't lower the crossbow. "Is Rick alright?"
"Dunno. Been a long time since I saw him."
"What about Lori? Carl?"
"Who are they?" Nikki asked, looking at Daryl.
"They're Rick's family."
"Can we talk about that later? We gotta get outta here," Connor said.
"Do you wanna go with us?" Murphy asked.
"Yeah," Chandler said and Peter, Mark and Nikki nodded.
"Let's go help them pack their stuff," Caroline said with a smile as she placed the crossbow on her back then took Nikki out of Daryl's arms. Daryl watched as Murphy, Caroline, Connor and Katherine lead the kids out of the main room then he turned to look at Jeffrey.
"Still don't trust me, hunh?" Jeffrey asked as he walked to the console and he sat on the high back chair. Daryl picked his crossbow off the large, metal table, placed the strap of the crossbow over his right shoulder, walked to the high back chairs then he leaned against the console and Jeffrey looked at him. "How'd you meet him? Rick?"
"You first," Daryl said as he crossed his arms over his chest then crossed one ankle over the other.
"I told you. He is my brother. Two years older than me. When I was a kid, I broke my ankle and Rick fought anyone who picked on me. He usually lost," Jeffrey said with a small laugh.
"Was it just the two of you?"
"No. We had a younger sister. Evie."
"What happened to her?"
"I have no idea."
Daryl saw the hurt in Jeffrey's eyes and heard the truth in what he was telling him.
"Why're you in Barcelona?" Daryl asked.
"Worked construction for a while. Wanted to save money to travel. The reason I picked Barcelona was because I love the book called Homage to Catalonia. While I was here? Lori called and told me Rick had gotten shot. Wanted to get the first plane out of here. Problem was the city was placed under quarantine."
Daryl nodded his head as he heard the truth in Jeffery's voice and Jeffrey sat up a little straighter in the chair.
"Met Claudia while rescuing a kid from those things. We traveled for a bit then we came here. Now it's your turn."
"Met Rick at a camp outside of Atlanta. He helped me rescue my brother after he got stuck on a roof," Daryl said. He didn't want to tell Jeffrey about Rick handcuffing Merle to a pipe and leaving him on the roof. "We returned to the camp. But it was attacked by Walkers."
"Walkers?"
"Those things out there."
"Did he travel with you?"
"Yeah."
"Were Lori and Carl with your group?"
"Yeah."
Daryl wanted to ask him if he knew Shane, but he only pressed his lips into a thin line.
"I met Lori when I was in high school. Introduced her to Rick," Jeffrey said.
"Hmph."
"Was Lori ok about living in the camp?"
"She seemed ok about it."
"I bet," Jeffrey said with a look. "She really didn't like to go camping. Oh. Not sure if you knew this. Lori and Rick….? Their marriage was a little rocky."
"Hunh."
"I had this feeling she was having an affair. Never told Rick."
"With who?"
"You ever meet a guy called Shane Walsh?"
"Yeah. He was a part of our group, too," Daryl said.
"What happened to him?"
"He died."
Daryl didn't want to him about Rick killing Shane and Jeffrey puffed out a breath of air.
"What happened to Lori?" Jeffrey asked.
"She died givin' birth to their little girl," Daryl said.
"I… I have a niece?"
"Yeah. Judith."
"That was the name of one of Carl's teachers. Is Judith still alive?"
"Yeah."
"Bet Carl was disappointed that he didn't get a little brother," Jeffrey said with a grin.
"Nah," Daryl said with a shake of his head.
"Did Rick….? Did he remarry?"
"Yeah. Michonne."
"How'd they meet?"
"She showed up at our camp with some diapers and formula fer Judith."
"Did they have any kids?"
"They got a son. RJ."
"RJ!? That short for Rick Junior?" he asked and Daryl nodded. "Then Carl did get a little brother."
Daryl didn't want to tell him that Carl never met RJ.
"Everything ok over there" made them stand as Connor, Murphy, Caroline and Katherine led the kids into the room and the kids had backpack on their backs.
"Yeah," Daryl said as he pushed off the console and walked toward his sister. Caroline felt the doubt and slight anger coming from him and he barely shook his head.
"Let's go," Jeffrey said when the lights flickered, went off then came back on. The computers hummed after powering up and a blue light shimmered around the room.
"What's going on?" Katherine asked while the red light shined in the room and an alarm sounded.
"Warning! Hostiles detected! Please head for the emergency exit!" the female computer voice said and Murphy picked up a crying Nikki. Mark ran to the console as he climbed onto the high back chair and he looked at the screen.
"Uh….," Mark said and Daryl looked at the screens showing the security footage. Doors had opened up in the walls as the Apocalipsis stumbled out into the hallway and Daryl checked the security footage of the room where Claudia kept Chandler and Peter's father and Mark and Nikki's mother. The shatterproof glass had lowered and the sliding door was open. Their parents slowly left the cells as they looked around then they walked out of the room.
"Shit," Daryl whispered and he looked at the screen where they had locked Doctor Becker in Claudia's office. Becker walked to the door when he opened the door, looked at the security camera, smiled then left the room.
In the meeting room, Claudia looked at the screens while the red lights flickered in the room and the alarms sounded around her.
"Damn you, Tomas," she grumbled, checked the gun she had in the holster on her belt and she headed for the door. She walked out in the hallway as the sound of gunfire filled the air and Alexandro and Fernando ran to her. "How many?"
"Lost count," Alexandro said.
"They're coming out of the wall like cockroaches," Fernando said.
"Liking my little surprise?" made her turn around to see Becker standing at the top of the stairs and he smiled.
"You…?! You're responsible for this?!" Claudia demanded as she motioned with her right arm to the Apocalipsis.
"Of course."
"How did the scanner not detect them?!" Claudia demanded as she, Alexandro and Fernando held their guns in their hands.
"You forget. I am not only a scientist and a researcher. I am also a computer hacker. Wasn't that hard to keep them under the radar as it were."
"You do know you're locked in here with us, right?" Alexandro asked.
"Yes. I know that. But my little pets won't hurt me."
"You don't' know that," Claudia said.
"Oh, I do. See… One of the things I did to them was teach them who their master is," Matthew said with a smug look.
"And their torturer."
"That, too."
"How do we stop them?"
"You don't."
Sighing, Claudia paced back and forth for a few seconds when she aimed the gun at Becker, fired the gun and the back of Becker's head exploded. They watched the body fall to the floor as she looked at Alexandro and Fernando and she placed the gun back in the holster.
"Let's go," Claudia said.
"What about the guys?" Alexandro asked.
"We'll save as many as we can then we'll find a way outta here."
"What about Jeff, our guests and the kids?" Fernando asked.
"They're on their own," she said then she headed for the stairs. Alexandro and Fernando looked at each other as they shrugged their shoulders and went to catch up with her.
In the bunker, Chandler led the way down the hallway as the alarms rang out around them and Caroline and Daryl were at the rear. Chandler stopped at the door as he looked at the keypad near the door and Mark walked to the keypad. He looked at the buttons when he pushed the buttons and the green light on the top of the keypad clicked on.
"Wait," Daryl said as he walked to the door. He opened the door enough to look out at the hallway and he saw the Apocalipsis attacking some of the guards. He closed the door as he looked at the kids, Connor, Murphy, Katherine and Caroline and he frowned. "Can't go that way."
"Doctor Samuel Ferguson recognized. Captain Debra Rogers recognized," the female computer voice suddenly said and Daryl looked at the security cameras on the ceiling.
"Mama!" Nikki as she tried to get down, but Murphy held her a little tighter.
"Dad!" Chandler said.
"Wait!" Daryl said as he went to stand in front of the kids and they glared at him. "That ain't them."
"He's right," Caroline said as she stood next to him.
"I want Mama!" Nikki shouted.
"I know you do," Murphy said while he hushed her and she placed her right cheek on his left shoulder.
"How did they get out of their cells?" Katherine said.
"The doors to their cells must have opened after the power went out," Daryl said.
"But how did they get in the bunker?" Jeffrey asked.
"Dunno."
"Mom would remember how to override the lockdown," Mark said.
"Great," Daryl said with a sigh.
"Which means we have to go through them to get out of here," Katherine said.
"Looks like," Connor said.
Chandler led the way as they headed for the main room, but they stopped as Samuel Ferguson and Debra Rogers appeared in the hallway. Daryl and Caroline moved in front of Chandler while pointing their crossbows at them and pointed the crossbows at them. Samuel and Debra growled and snapped their jaws at them as they moved closer when Chandler walked in front of Daryl and Samuel and Debra stopped.
"Hey, Dad," Chandler said and Peter stood next to him.
"Hi, Dad," Peter said.
Samuel looked from one boy to the other as Connor appeared behind them and Samuel growled.
"It's ok. He's a friend," Chandler said.
"Yeah. He's cool," Peter said and Connor smiled down at him.
Mark walked to stand in front of Daryl and Mark looked at Debra.
"Hi, Mama," Mark said.
"Mama!" Nikki shouted as she held her arms out and Debra looked at her. Debra growled at Murphy as he hushed Nikki and he looked at Debra. He wasn't sure, but it felt like he locked eyes with her and Debra tilted her head one way then the other. "It's ok, Mama. Mister Murphy's nice."
Murphy was surprised when Debra gave him a tiny smile then backed up.
"Sam. Debs," Jeffrey said as he walked to stand next to Daryl and a familiar feeling moved through Daryl. Samuel and Debra looked at Jeffrey as he held his hands up in surrender and he walked a little closer. "Not sure how much of you is still left in there. But these people…."
He turned to look at Daryl, Caroline, Katherine, Connor and Murphy then turned to look at them.
"They're on our side," Jeffrey said. "If they weren't? Do you think the kids woulda let them in here?"
"He's right. They ain't like Claudia or the rest of those assholes," Chandler said.
"She put us in the holding cell," Peter said.
"Yeah. Just because we set off a flash bang."
"That's because Claudia was being a bitch to 'em and was gonna lock 'em up."
"Boys…," Connor said in a voice which reminded Murphy of their father and the boys looks at their feet.
"Sorry," Chandler said and Peter nodded.
"Mister Murphy helped me go back to sleep after I had a bad dream and Miss Caroline helped me go potty," Nikki said and Caroline swore Debra smiled at her
"Mrs. Katherine cooks almost as good as you do, Mama," Mark said and Katherine thought Debra was trying to laugh. "And Miss Caroline and Mister Daryl are really badass when it comes to killing monsters."
"Mark, watch yer language," Murphy warned and Mark looked down.
"Sorry."
Murphy noticed that Debra gave him a look of approval and he barely nodded his head.
"And, Dad, Mister Connor is really smart. Not as smart as you, though," Peter said and Connor liked the smile Samuel's face.
"Will you let us go?" Jeffrey asked as he looked at Debra and Samuel. They waited when Samuel and Debra headed for the door and they followed them. They headed into the main lobby as they walked toward the sliding doors, but stopped when Claudia, Alexandro and Fernando appeared.
"And where do you think you're going?" Claudia asked, pointing her gun at them.