𝘼dalyn and Rick watched as the Saviors loaded all of their guns into the trucks. Negan watched, as well. He looked at the pair with a smile. "You know what today is, you two? Today is a banner day. Yes it is. I think this little arrangement we have is gonna work out just fine."
He stopped Daryl, who was carrying an armload of guns. "Hold up." He picked up a pistol from the pile, and Daryl kept walking as Negan looked at Rick. "Let's see if you've been taking care of my guns."
He pulled back the hammer, cocking the gun. Adalyn's entire body went rigid as he pointed it at Daryl, who turned around just in time to see the gun aimed at his head. He kept moving without a word as he made way back into the armory to help. Negan followed him with the weapon, eyes never leaving Rick and Adalyn.
Then, he lifted the gun, shooting one of the windows. It burst in a shower of glass, earning a chuckle from Negan as Adalyn visibly jolted. "Feels good," he said. "Sounds good." He pointed at the bat in Rick's hand. "Oh, I do believe Lucille's gettin' a little jealous." He glanced back to see one of the Saviors carrying up an RPG from the armory. "Well, ho-ly smokes!"
He took it from the Savior, looking the weapon over. "Look at this!" He was laughing as he looked at Rick and Adalyn. "It was you guys that took out Little Timmy and the Dick Brigade? Wow, Rick. Gettin' in your last licks. Ooh, man, I'm gonna have some fun with this."
"Please, I- - I don't know for- -" Adalyn spun around to see Arat dragging Olivia up the stairs by the arm, shoving her forward.
Adalyn moved to pull her friend into a hug, but Rick held her wrist, keeping her back.
Negan sighed. "Arat, we don't do that unless they do somethin' to deserve it," he said.
Arat nodded. "Yeah, we went through the inventory," she said. "Guns in the armory, guns they had around the walls, they're short."
Adalyn went stiff, looking between the notebook in Arat's hands, Olivia, and Negan. "Glock nine and a twenty-two Bobcat," Arat said as she handed the list over to Negan.
Negan's eyes fell to Olivia. "Is that true?" he asked.
She nodded weakly.
Rick tried to come to her rescue. "We had some people leave town. Those guns probably went with them."
"So Olivia and Addy suck at their job. Is that what you're sayin'?" Negan asked.
"No," Rick said. "No, I'm not saying that."
"There should be full accounting here, right?" Negan pressed. "Top to bottom. Am I right?"
"No," Olivia said. Then, corrected herself. "I mean, yes. The inventory is correct."
Negan nodded. "Good," he said. "But not so good, too. You see, what's in here..." he waved the notebook in front of her. "Isn't in there. You're two handguns short. Do you know where they are?"
Olivia shook her head. "No. I..."
Negan sighed. He turned around to look at Rick. "That's disappointing, Rick," he said. "I thought that we had an understanding. But this- - well, this shows that someone's not on board, and I can't have that."
He looked at Olivia again, who tried not to shrink away from his gaze. "I don't enjoy killing women," he said. "Men- - I can waste them all the live long. But at the end of the day, Olivia, my dear, this was your responsibility."
"Look, we can work this out," Rick interjected.
"Oh, yes we can," Negan said. "And I'm going to- - right now."
"I work in inventory," Adalyn said, trying to keep her voice steady. "I should have known, too, but I didn't. It's not her fault."
Negan sighed. "And I'll deal with that later. But for now, Addy, I'm dealing with Olivia."
Olivia had started to whimper in fear. Negan shrugged. "This was your job, and you screwed up. Keeping track of guns? That shit... is life and death."
It came to an agreement. Olivia taken prisoner temporarily until the guns were found. If the guns weren't in Negan's hand by the end of the day, she died.
Rick gathered everyone in the church to try and work out the situation. Adalyn was shaking as he spoke.
"I thought about hiding some of the guns. I did it before. I figured I could bury some out there. Maybe we don't touch them for years."
"Years?" Tobin asked.
Rick nodded. "Yeah. That's right. But what if the Saviors find those guns? What if we run into them when we have those guns on us? One of us dies. Maybe more than that. Maybe a lot more. Doesn't matter how many bullets we have. It isn't enough. They win. It's that black-and-white. Hiding a couple of guns isn't the answer, not anymore. We don't have to like it, but we need to give them over. A Glock nine and a twenty-two. That's what they're looking for. Who has it?"
Adalyn looked around the church. She tried to gauge reactions, tried to pick out just who was about to lie to Rick's face.
"Someone knows where they are or they know who does," Rick said. "If we don't find them, they're gonna kill Olivia. They'll do it."
One of the men stood up. "Why do they care?" he asked. "Two guns aren't a threat to them. But those guns could help protect us from whatever else is out there."
Rick nodded slightly. "Do you have 'em?" he asked.
"Wish I did," the man answered as he sat back down.
Rick looked around at everyone. "Most of you weren't there. You didn't have to watch. But you can look away now when someone else dies, or you can help solve this. We give them what they want, and we live in peace."
Quietly, Adalyn heard Aaron whispering to Eric. "Don't. Now is not the time."
"It is," Eric answered.
He got to his feet. "Say we find the guns," he said to Rick. "How are we gonna get out of this, Rick?"
"There is no way out of this," Rick answered. "Let me put this to all of you as clearly as I can. I'm not in charge anymore. Negan is. Now, who has the guns?"
Silence.
Adalyn balled her hands into fists so tight that she drew blood.
Eugene turned in his seat, scanning the church. "Not everyone's here," he said.
Rick seemed to realize as well.
