"REPEAT: ROMAN TO SANCTUARY. CODE RED. MEN DOWN." A man's voice broke through static on the Saviors' radios. Simon and DJ heard it out in the yard, Aven and Negan in Negan's office, Dwight and his men out in the field.
"What's your 20?" Simon was the first to respond.
"Route 4. A few miles off 458," Roman replied, his voice badly strained. "I'm shot."
"We're a long ways off from there. How many down?" asked Dwight, standing in the woods in a concerned huddle with his team as they listened in closely. In the office, Negan could only stare at the radio in his furiously shaking hand; all Aven could do was stare back at him.
"Everyone. Five. This bitch-" Roman's voice broke off for a second. "This tiny little bitch...from Alexandria..." Negan's frown deepend at the mention of the community. "She was crying and crying...we were gonna take her there...use her to get in...she fucking opened fire and killed everyone." Aven leaned in, listening intently; this sounded like a very capable woman.
"Simon, you and your men better already be out the fucking gate," Negan finally growled.
"Working on it," Simon replied. Negan was about to tell him to work faster when Roman came through again.
"Th-there's a car coming down the road. I need to move." Roman inadvertently kept his thumb on the button, pushing the car door open with a creak and a pained groan. "Let go man...just let go," he said, presumably to one of the other victims. He slipped his finger off the button and there was another moment of radio silence before he came back through. "Two guys...one just put Jiro out of his misery...they're talking about the Saviors...they're looking for her...they're with her. It's definitely them."
"Help is on the way," Simon interrupted. "Stay out of sight. We'll radio when we're close."
"Copy."
"Switch to channel 5," instructed Negan. "I want radio fucking silence on this channel unless it has to do with the Alexandrians."
"You won't be getting much silence then, boss," Dwight grunted. "We're coming up on a group of 'em in the woods. Staying back until we're sure they're alone, three or four of 'em...wait..." Dwight trailed off and everyone went silent, worried that radioing might compromise his position. "Intercepting communication...something's wrong at their base...said 'Get her to Hilltop to save the baby.'" Negan's anger visibly subsided and his lips curled into a grin.
"Maybe I have to pay Gregory another fucking visit," Negan muttered to himself.
"You want us to intercept?" Simon asked. "Send someone else out for Roman? We're going that way anyway."
"Sounds like they're fixing to leave," Dwight said. "Getting a crew together. Rick's going." An unstoppable smile dawned on Aven's face when she saw the triumphant fire in Negan's eyes, a plan quickly falling into place. He switched the radio channel and called on someone Aven didn't know to go out and find Roman, the voice immediately confirming. Then Negan switched the channel back.
"Dwight, keep following the stragglers. If they're alone, take 'em and hold 'em," he ordered. "Simon, block route 295 to Hilltop. Radio Gavin at outpost B to block off all other routes. No fucking casualties. I want these fucks alive. Aim fire at their feet."
"Wait," Aven said, snapping out of her admiring gaze. "They're trying to save a baby?"
"I'm trying to save as many fucking lives as I can," Negan growled. Aven put her hands up in surrender and backed off.
"Arat, round up the army," Negan continued, referring to the huge group of Saviors ready to roll out and kill on any given day. "We're going on a fucking road trip." With that, he slammed the radio down and pushed his chair all the way out, staying seated with his arms outstretched to Aven. "C'mere," he ordered proudly. She complied, sitting on one of his thighs with her legs draped over the other, her arms coming up around his neck as she placed a firm kiss on his lips. They grinned against each other's faces.
"Wait 'til you fuckin' see me in action," Negan growled in her ear. Aven bit her lip, undeniably turned on by his fiery mood. She pulled him back in for a passionate, drawn-out kiss before breaking away and humming against his lips.
"Give these fucking pricks hell."
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"Negan, you're gonna hate this guy," Simon drawled. "What a morally upright asshole." It had been almost two hours since the Saviors had sprung into action, radio transmission constantly keeping Negan updated on the whereabouts of the traveling Alexandrians. He, Aven, Arat, and a few other Saviors sat an hour out from the Sanctuary, awaiting their cue to close in.
"Just turned 'em around again on 295," said one of the Saviors from the outpost. "Looks like they're pulling off the highway."
"I found the bitch who attacked us," Roman added. "I'm gonna watch her die slow like our boys just fuckin' did."
"Roman, stand down," Simon ordered. Twenty minutes passed of radio silence before a Savior from one of the outpost groups came through.
"Just pushed 'em back South," a man said. "Simon, can you meet us up near the crossroads?"
"Negative," Simon answered. "Not yet. Setting one last road block and then they'll have nowhere left to go."
"Everyone keep your eyes on them and start moving in on the coordinates," said Negan. He sat in the passenger's seat of an RV, Aven standing at his side. It was getting dark and a chill came through the open door. He reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a red scarf, wrapping it around his neck and tucking it into his collar as Aven leaned in on his shoulder slightly.
"I like this scarf," she said, tugging at the fabric. "Red is your color." She placed her hand on the side of his face and stroked his beard, about to lean in for a kiss when she was interrupted.
"Time to get where we're goin', boss," Simon's voice crackled over the radio. Negan stood suddenly, gently spinning Aven and pushing her into the passenger's seat as he slipped behind the wheel.
"Moving in," he radioed back. "Find me a nice little clearing in the woods to have our fuckin' picnic. Wall it in with the trucks and wait for my command." With that, Negan revved the engine of the RV to life and moved off down the road.
A half hour later, they pulled off into the woods to head to the coordinates Dwight's team had sent out. They came to a clearing where dozens of Negan's men stood armed, waiting around their trucks. Simon and his group pulled in after them and finished enclosing most of the clearing with their cars, leaving open a small trail leading from the road.
"Everyone out," Negan ordered, Arat and the other Saviors filing out of the truck to stand with the army outside. He lingered at the open door and called out to Simon. "You know the drill." He turned back into the RV, letting the door slam behind him, and gazed at Aven who was staring amorously from her spot leaning up against the table. "What's that fuckin' look on your face?" he grinned knowingly.
"You're hot when you're in charge," she replied.
"I'm always in charge," he said gruffly, moving in towards her until he was directly in front of her, hands on the table on either side of her hips.
"You're always hot," she said with a shrug.
"But what is it about right now that's different?" Before Aven could answer, they heard a drawn-out, two-toned whistle echoing in the clearing and into the open window of the RV. The sun had set and Negan quickly reached up to turn off the light in the RV as the headlights of the cars outside went dark. He leaned in and kissed her so softly she almost missed it. Another whistle followed, and another, the sound joining with the cold air to send chills down Aven's spine.
The whistles got louder and louder and Aven peered around Negan and out the window. Through the dark she could see a group of people running out of the woods and as soon as they stepped into the clearing, all the car headlight's blared back to life and the chorus of Saviors whistled in tandem. Negan stared at Aven's eyes curiously, observing her reaction. The looks of fear on the peoples' faces mixed with the loud, musical representation of Negan's amount of power sent more chills through her and she let out a shaky breath, biting her lip.
"That's what it is," he growled, pressing her to the table with his hips. "You like the power."
"Guilty," she replied immediately. Without warning, Negan crashed his lips to hers, reaching down and wrapping his hands around her thighs to lift her onto the table. She curled her legs and arms around him, pulling him close and moaning into his kiss as his tongue searched her mouth. He pulled away quickly and he firmly cradled the back of her neck in his hand, gazing at her hungrily. Outside, the whistling subsided and Simon's voice came booming through the brief silence.
"Welcome to where you're going!" he taunted before the Saviors began taking everyone's weapons. The group of Alexandrians was shaking, bloodied, and scared shitless. Simon drawled on with what Aven assumed to be a speech he and Negan had done several renditions of. Aven could see the cornered Alexandrians gingerly lowering a loaded stretcher down to the ground. As they got to their knees, two of them had to help the sickly looking woman who'd been taken off the stretcher.
"Shit," Aven breathed, pushing away from Negan and going up to the window. "That woman doesn't look so good." That's when Dwight yanked open the trunk of a van so he and two other Saviors could toss the Alexandrians they'd captured into the center with the rest of them. "Oh shit!" Aven gawked. "Negan, look! It's that guy from the woods! Crossbow-motorcycle guy." Negan was directly behind her gazing out the window.
"Huh, no shit," he said casually. No sooner than Aven had observed the man she'd taken her leather vest from, she saw a teenaged boy. He looked slightly familiar but it was the big sheriff's hat on his head that gave her pause.
"Wait..." she began, wondering if she was seeing correctly. "No fucking way. I've met these people." She finally realized why the man from the woods had looked so familiar. She'd met him months earlier while staying at a community based in a prison; when she left, he had been the one to drive her out to a working car she could take. "Rick the prick," she recited. "No fucking shit." Negan was eying her worriedly, hoping he wasn't about to have to slaughter people she knew. Before he could ask how she knew them, he heard his cue.
"We got a full boat!" Simon chimed. "Let's meet the man." He raised his fist to the outside wall of the RV and wrapped softly on it twice. Negan gave one last glance at Aven, who was grinning back at him with a twinkle in her eye.
"Give 'em hell, babe," she said. The flames in his eyes blazed and he flashed his teeth at her, swinging Lucille once in a wide circle at his side as he bent back slightly at the knees.
"Yes, ma'am."
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Author's note While writing this chapter I just started rewatching TWD from around this point (episode 615 to be exact, second to last of season 6). I watched the first few seasons through twice but not the later seasons so this is my second time on most of these episodes. I'm in the vibe of seasons 7 and 8 and all I can think of is the difference in tone when Glenn was still there to talk some fucking sense into people. I was initially going to keep him alive in this story. That makes things easy, eliminates Maggie's unquenchable thirst for revenge and leaves Rick largely in the wrong for being so hot-headed from the get-go. But Glenn was really important to Rick, I'd say tied with Daryl for number one non-blood family member. If he's still alive, Rick is at least a third less insane and Glenn is there to further keep him level, which means Negan doesn't have as much of a problem. The character development on this show is so fucking flawless. So I'm not quite sure what I'm gonna do. I also inadvertantly completely eliminated Daryl's conflict with not killing Dwight in the woods, but I guess maybe he's still pretty pissed with Aven stealing his vest? idk. OH SHIT MAGGIE'S PREGNANCY PROBLEMS JUST STARTED HERE WE GO
-me watching TWD while writing
ps Roman is a piece of shit and attacks Carol and Morgan kills him so let's just assume that happens here so I don't have to deal with him
pps fuck this is all breaking my heart. this is why i wasn't gonna rewatch. it hurts ugh
wait jk Negan's here it's all good
good isn't the right word