Before

It was rare these days for her to feel like she was in a situation completely out of her control. 99% of the time they were the ones with the stronger numbers, the better equipment, more options to give. She was thoroughly uncomfortable with not being in the superior position.

The guns in her face also did nothing to help her unease.

While the CRM had moved away from traditional military fatigues these guys were still holding strong with full gear. The gas masks covering their face blocked her from seeing them with any detail but she imagined that these people were just as hardened and dedicated as her own soldiers. "Drop your weapons!" the one she assumed to be the leader boomed. "Now!"

He stood to the left of center of the ring circled around her and her team. She'd only brought a few with her, this being a side errand from the actual mission she was on. Not a good idea in hindsight. "Hold," she told her men. She looked between the two forward most soldiers. "We're not here to cause any trouble. I heard you on the radio–"

"Impossible. Our frequencies are secure. Accessible through military channels only."

She stayed still except for the eyebrow she raised and waited for him to catch up. Since she couldn't see their expressions she took his adjustment of his stance as realization. "I think we have a few things to discuss."

Now

How any of these people got things done was beyond her. In the CRM, you'd follow the chain of command; one person making the decisions and subordinates followed them. This circus was apparently a free-for-all with everyone doing whatever the hell they wanted. She'd probably be entertained by the chaos if it wasn't so goddamn annoying. Didn't these people have any sense of urgency?

They finally settled on Rick, Michonne, and Mercer when Judith volunteered to go as well. She expected all hell to break loose, and protested when both parents agreed after a silent conversation made of looks to one another. She did not expect the girl to speak up for herself. "You said you're doing this for him. I want to, too. He's my family, and he looked out for us while my parents were gone," the girl pleaded at her. "I owe him too."

She looked at the young girl she once raised and wondered how she ended up with so much optimism when she was so used to people leaving her behind. But of course, the one time her parents didn't want to abandon her was when they might be heading to an entirely different continent. Go figure. She rolled her eyes, and waved her hand, attempting to appear nonchalant about the idea, but inside she was tense. She worried both about the child going and about her own reactions around her. She felt entirely unsettled being near the girl that grew from the baby she once loved more than anything.

Unwilling to sit the emotions any longer than she had to, she turned to the massive man guarding the door and said, "If we're all agreed, can we get on with it then? We're losing daylight." She honestly didn't care what time they made it to the coast, she just needed out of this room.

Her plans were halted by the former tiger king. "Why don't we chat while the others go home to pack a bag?" he suggested, one eyebrow raised. She could tell he wasn't asking.

The Councilor sighed and moved away from the door, Morris and Shepherd moving a few steps to be out of the way. The pair had smartly stayed quiet throughout the meeting, but she had a feeling that wouldn't be allowed to last much longer.

The four that would be accompanying them left, off to pack whatever supplies they thought they'd need over the next few days. Weeks? This certainly wasn't what she expected when Rick called for her help. She turned away from the door to look back at the remaining strangers in the room. She could tell that they didn't know what to make of her, but the leader attempted a smile at her. "Please, sit," he said motioning to the chairs scattered around the various desks.

Her head turned minimally towards her pilot and assistant, giving a small nod with her permission. She wouldn't sit but she wouldn't hold the other two back from it. Focusing back to the figures at the front, each one of them staring her down. However, now that the people who thought they actually knew something about her had left, she was starting to feel much more like herself. Confident, sturdy. Capable of putting emotions aside to complete what she set out to do. "Just ask," she said in a bored tone.

Her brazenness shocked them, if their faces were anything to go by. Surprisingly the preacher was the one to recover first and question her. "Do you plan on seeing Maggie now that you've…reconnected with the group?" His one eye bore into her more than most other people do with two. He must be close with the woman, she guessed.

"No."

She watched as they waited for her to elaborate but eventually got the hint that that was the whole answer. The nervous woman so unlike her brother shifted on her feet before seeming to remember that she was capable of having a backbone. "Why should we trust you? I mean–" she looked to the others for back up, "they weren't here when we dealt with you in the past, and my brother never thought you were telling the truth about the railroads. And now, you like, knew them, before. But you didn't want to find your own sister? Why–why should we believe anything you say?" the woman asked, completely baffled that she would make any other choice than family.

As if family had ever worked out for her before. "You probably shouldn't," she answered openly and honestly. "But I am the only choice you have at the moment." She let them consider it before she asked a question of her own. "Is Carol still at that settlement in Maine?"

At this the king looked away and shook his head, a slight amount of annoyance and anger in his voice. "They went radio silent shortly after she told us. We're assuming she hijacked the next boat and went after him."

She couldn't help the small smile that graced her face. "That sounds like her. How long ago?"

"A little over a week," Gabriel said. "When did Rick call you?"

He really hadn't told anyone. "Two days ago. What did he tell you about me?" She had to know.

The man squinted at her. "Nothing. He hasn't talked about his time away much at all, and definitely nothing about you." He paused. "Is there anything we should know?"

A million thoughts flew through her head at the question, the possibilities. But she filed them all away. "Nope," she said with a pop.