Red River Blue

Chapter 78

Carol vaguely remembered Harley saying that she needed to talk to her. But with all the chaos of the walker herd attacks and the disaster at Hilltop, the girl's request slipped her mind. Carol was moving some items around in the community storage pantry when the door swung open. And the moment Harley entered the room and locked eyes with her, Carol knew she was up to no good. The fact that she had Negan and Aiden with her didn't bode well either. Music was the only good thing that ever resulted from any collaboration between Aiden and Harley. And they certainly didn't look like they'd spent the morning writing songs. Plus, Negan was obviously involved in whatever half-cocked plan they'd cooked up. He might be on their side now, but the man was still a walking talking pain in the fucking ass. All that, and Harley clearly waited until both Rick and Daryl were conveniently not around before she cornered her. A shiver ran up Carol's spine. Whatever the three of them were up to, she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it.

"What the hell are you up to?," Carol asked, directing her question towards Harley though she was also eyeballing the two instigators behind her. The corners of Harley's mouth twisted up into a wickedly evil grin. How much she looked like Merle when she made that face was unsettling.

"Ya already know," Harley countered, raising her brow as she continued to smirk. Negan had a similar expression on his face, while Aiden looked more serious. Carol guessed this was not his plan but rather something Harley wrangled him into.

"You're going after her. After Alpha," Carol said, spitting the woman's moniker as though it was a curse word.

"You better goddamn bet we are," Negan chortled.

"You can't break the agreement we have with the rest of the coalition," Carol said, folding her arms under her breasts. "Not without at least the council's approval."

Negan chuckled, making a dramatic show of glancing around the small room, his eyes lingering on each of them until he finally settled on Carol. His smile widened when he made eye contact with her.

"Looks to me like we have a council majority right fucking here," he announced with flourish and a wave of his hands.

Carol didn't bother to inform Negan of the way she ran the council. They had a council majority. That much was true. But in order to break an agreement Alexandria had with the entire coalition, they needed to convene the council and vote. That way the people that weren't in agreement at least had a chance to say their piece. By voting in secret, they weren't exactly breaking the rules. But they were definitely bending them to the absolute limits. And Carol wasn't sure how kindly people would take to her doing that. Especially since she wasn't even sure what her official position was now that she'd been gone so long.

"What's your plan?," Carol asked. From the looks on their faces, they clearly had one. Harley and Negan looked like they were already dressed for the road. Both of them had weapons on them. And Harley's long blonde hair was braided back from her face, the way she styled it when she was going on an extended hunting trip. Carol had a feeling that they were going to dip the moment she gave her approval. They probably had packed bags and weapons sitting right outside the community pantry door.

"We're fixin' ta get recruited," Harley said. "I think I'd look good in a skin suit," she added, doing the Merle grin again.

"...and then?," Carol asked.

"Once I figure out where Alpha's keepin' all her pet walkers I'll lop her fuckin' head off and stick it on a pike," Harley said, her voice casual despite the slight tinge of excitement. She might have been talking about going to the movies the way she sounded. Like decapitating the leader of another group was just another day in the apocalypse for her.

"You know it's not just her," Carol warned. "Beta's alive. He was at the meet."

Negan snorted, chuckling at this bit of information. It amused him to no end that all the badasses in Alexandria were frightened of some big scarecrow. Beta might be the new big bad. But no one could beat the original.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Harley quipped. She shook her head at Negan, who seemed to think her joke was a lot funnier than it actually was.

Carol didn't seem amused by their banter. But Harley saw the gleam in her eye when she said she was going to chop Alpha's head off. Carol wanted revenge just as much as she did. Maybe more.

"Even if you can get them to take you in…," Carol said, eyeing Harley with concern. "The whisperers rape their women."

Carol wanted Alpha dead. She wanted this nightmare to end. But she didn't want Harley to be irreparably damaged in the process. Harley was family. Carol loved her just as much as she loved the son she lost. And there was the rest of the group to consider. If Carol went behind their backs and sent Harley off, it would tear the entire council apart if something happened to her.

"I've got her back," Negan said, his face and tone suddenly serious. This might be a game to him. But it wasn't a joke.. "If it looks like things are going sideways, I'll pull the plug and we'll bounce."

Carol took a few deep breaths. She tried not to think about how badly she wanted Alpha dead. She had to think strategically. Not emotionally. She needed to think about what was smart. Not about Sam's head on that pike. Glancing around the room, her eyes finally landed on Aiden, the one person that hadn't offered up an opinion on Harley's plan. He was here. So he clearly agreed with what Harley was about to do.

"This is the only way we're getting out of this without more bloodshed," Aiden said. "Alpha's never seen Harley. Or Negan. She doesn't know who they are." Aiden looked at Harley, meeting her eyes with his one good one before he added. "...and if anyone can get this done, Harley can. Rick might have his fuckin' doubts. But I believe in her. I know she can do it."

"You asshole," Harley teased, her expression turning soft as she turned and wrapped her arms around Aiden. They both held on tight, drawing strength from their shared embrace. Harley was the first to pull back. She kept her leather clad hand on the back of Aiden's neck as she pressed her forehead against his. "I love ya like I love country music," she said.

"I love you too," he whispered back, "...even though your breath stinks like scrambled eggs."

With that Harley shoved Aiden away from her, laughing as she peppered his muscular arm with a few hard rabbit punches. When she was done with her assault, Harley turned back to Carol. She cocked her hand up onto her hip, waiting for the woman to give her official approval.

"I'm agreeing to this under one condition," Carol said, holding up her hand to keep Harley and Negan from opening their yaps until she was finished. "After you kill her, I want to be the one to put her head on a pike."

Harley flashed the Merle grin at her again. And this time it really did send a shiver up Carol's spine. But when Harley stretched her hand out, Carol was still quick to grasp it.

"Momma C," Harley said, "...you got yerself a deal!"

Carol shook Harley's hand, feeling like she was making a deal with the devil. Little did she know, that deal was yet to come. Negan stepped forward, eyeing her expectantly.

"We're not done dealing yet," he said, flashing Harley a wink before he quickly turned his attention back to Carol.

"What do you want?," she asked. The proper question would have been what else do you want. He was already living in Alexandria. It wasn't officially official. No one actually sponsored him. But no one was trying to remove him either. If he wanted her to sponsor him, Carol would. She wouldn't be happy about it. But she would do it. Negan was more of an asset than he was a liability. And regardless of her personal opinion of him, he'd earned his place.

"I want a spot," he said, holding up his finger and indicating to Carol that she better let him finish. "Not just a spot in town. But I do want that too. I want a fucking council seat."

"What?," Carol gasped. She did have the authority to assign the council seats. But that didn't mean she had total free rein. People would flip shit if Negan got a seat at the table. Carol glanced at Harley and Aiden. From the looks on their faces she could tell that Harley knew what was coming. Aiden, on the other hand, was as shocked as she was.

"You heard me," Negan said. "If I do this. If I save y'all from the big bad wolf. Then I want a seat at the fucking table."

"There aren't any open council seats," Carol said, her mind still reeling slightly at the thought of what he was suggesting. He'd lost his mind if he thought she was going to boot someone off the council so Negan could take their seat.

"He can have mine," Harley said. Carol whipped her head towards the girl, giving her a questioning look. "Rick asked me ta marry him. And I'm gonna. If he don't kill me first."

"...and married couples have to share one council seat," Carol finished. She scrubbed her face with her hands, raking her hair back and tucking the long strands behind her ears. "If you're going to abdicate your seat to Negan," Carol said, "...you don't need me to appoint him. You can give your seat to whoever you want."

"Yeah, but we need yer support," Harley said. "Because it's him."

"Holy fucking fuck," Aiden cursed. Harley turned, giving him a dirty look and rolling her eyes when he flipped his middle finger up at her. She should have told him this shit before they came in here.

"Alright," Carol said. "You kill Alpha. And Beta. And locate the hoard. And make sure the rest of those psychos aren't going to cause us any more problems… Do all that and you've got my support."

Negan clapped his hands together. "Hell fuckin' yeah," he exclaimed. "That's what I'm fucking talkign about!" Carol let out a muffled shriek as he grabbed her by the back of her neck and forcibly pressed his lips down against hers. When he spun with the clear intention to give Harley the same treatment, she already had a knife in his face. Negan laughed, sticking his hand out instead. Harley tucked her knife away and shook it. And after one more backwards glance at Carol, Harley pulled Negan away out the door before anyone could change their minds.

"What in hell did we just do?," Aiden asked.

"I hope we just won this war," Carol said, wiping her lips off with her fingers. She just made a deal with the devil was what she did. "We're going to have to think up a cover story. We can't tell anyone where they're actually going."

"Why not?," Aiden asked. Rick and Merle would throw a big fit. But that was nothing new. By the time they figured out what was happening, Harley would already be long gone. They could bitch and holler all day long but they wouldn't be able to go after Harley without crossing the border and risking exposure.

"Because we've got a spy."