ELEANOR . NEGAN

002.

The darkness bleeds through his silhouette of the dark, taunting and predatory man as his firm hazel eyes stay stuck on Rick. The corner of his beard lips turn upwards and a beyond-fitting grin blesses his expression.

"Hi. You're Rick, right? I'm Negan." He coats his words with pure delight to the point it was hard to decipher if that was his genuine reaction or just a coax to see he didn't care. "And I do not appreciate you killing my men. Also, when I sent my people to kill your people for killing my people, you killed more of my people. Not cool. Not cool. You have... no idea how not cool that shit is."

Eleanor had a sense of regret digging into her bones and chipping away at her skin at the memory of the satellite compound. She remembered how her own hands were the perpetrator of a cowardly crime where the pre-sharpened blade sunk into the brains of sleeping men. An entire satellite building; gone.

"But I think you're gonna be up to speed shortly. Yeah. You are so gonna regret crossing me in a few minutes. Yes, you are." He smiled with shining teeth, his oral hygiene clearly in check. "You see, Rick, whatever you do, no matter what, you don't mess with the new world order.. And the new world order is this, and it's really very simple. So, even if you're stupid, which you very may well be, you can understand it."

"You ready? Here goes. Pay attention."

He manoeuvred his weapon around his palm so the fine wood faced Rick's frightened face. "Give me your shit... or I will kill you."

Oh. Very fucking anti-climatic.

"Today was career day. We invested a lot so you would know who I am and what I can do. You work for me now." Negan was prone to using his weapon to accentuate his words. "You have shit, you give it to me. That's your job. Now, I know that is a mighty big, nasty pill to swallow, but swallow it... you most certainly will."

He creeped forward and towered over Rick. "You ruled the roost. You... built something. You thought you were safe. I get it. But the word is out. You are not safe. Not even close. In fact, you are pegged, more pegged if you don't do what I want. And what I want... is half your shit."

Eleanor wasn't an intelligent person. She never was. But the way he lent back to punctuate his phrases either meant two things: he was an old man OR he wanted to prove he is the domineering person in this situation, to come across as relaxed and care-free to the human eye.

"And if that's too much, you can make, find, or steal more, and it'll even out sooner or later. This is your way of life now. The more you fight back, the harder it will be. So, if someone knocks on your door..." His long legs began to stride down the line-up with his weapon and his eyes pointing to each kneeling member. "You let us in. We own that door. You try to stop us and we will knock it down. You understand?"

Negan lent forward with his hand cupping his ear, an impractical gesture to make the situation seem like a joke. "What? No answer?" He strolled back. "You don't really think that you were gonna get through this without being punished, now, did you? I don't want to kill you people. Just want to make that clear from the get-go."

Elle had her eyes pinned on the physically restless man. The human who moved his weapon without a care, never able to stand in one spot. "I want you to work for me. You can't do that if you're dead, now, can you? I'm not growing a garden. But you killed my people, a whole damn lot of them. More than I'm comfortable with. And for that — for that you're gonna pay." Negan's eyes jumped from the bleeding and sweating Daryl to the crying Eugene. "So now? I'm gonna beat the holy Hell outta one of you."