Spiced Molasses

Chapter 48

It was one of the surrealist thing that Beth had ever witnessed. The scene in front of her was incredibly contradictory. Part of the weirdness stemmed from how familiar this room was to her. It was the same kitchen that her mother had cooked all her meals in. It was the same wooden table where her father had patiently helped her with her math homework.

But it had never been this full of people, not even at Christmas or Thanksgiving. Besides, it wasn't the sheer amount of human bodies they had managed to squeeze into what was not an overly large room that was. It was the type of people there. Possibly an even mix of secret agents and criminals.

Martinez, Pete and Merle sat around the table. The first two looked particularly uncomfortable. They were dressed to fit in with the mourners and Martinez kept tugging at his tie awkwardly. He had struggled to put it on before Andrea had eventually intervened. Pete in a suit wasn't nearly as jarring. His clean cut good looks complimented the more formal attire.

The only one who seemed at ease was Merle. "Can I smoke?" Merle asked nobody in particular, already patting his pockets for a cigarette.

"No," Maggie retorted from her cramped spot in the corner where she leant against a cupboard with her arms tightly crossed. Glenn was pressed in against her, running over maps of the property for the trillionth time. He had highlighted places like the barn, places to fall back to. Escape routes were marked in blue and he had been making Maggie memorise those paths so that she could lead her siblings to safety if need be.

Merle narrowed his eyes slightly. He was trying to be on his best behaviour but it was against his natural habits to take orders.

To support Maggie's decree, Daryl pointed a finger at his brother. "She said no."

It was the first time he had spoken in a while actually. Since Pete and Martinez had entered, he'd fallen oddly silent. There was a tension in the room that had nothing to do with the growing fear and nervousness that their plans might be for nothing.

The three of them were acting like they had broken up. No one was making eye contact or communicating directly. It would have elicited a giggle from Beth if it wasn't so very silly. She wanted to get them to resolve it immediately but they simply did not have time.

She wished Haley and Karen were here, even more so when she heard that they had volunteered to come too. Martinez and Pete had dissuaded them, saying it would be dangerous for them. There was a silver lining however. One face in the group of people was more than welcome. When Michonne had entered the kitchen, Beth had not been able to contain herself, flinging herself across the room and into Michonne's arms.

"How are you here?" Beth had asked, squeezing her friend in a strong embrace. Michonne's undercover position with the cops had been extremely useful to the Organisation.

"I took some personal leave." Michonne's explanation had been a touch breathless and Beth had been forced to release her good friend so that she didn't pass out from lack of oxygen.

It was a simple plan really. It relied on the Governor's arrogance more than anything. The well trained agents would stay outside and mark the perimeter. Their superior training would keep them out of sight so as not to trigger any suspicions when the Governor arrived. If he did come.

They had tried to advertise the funeral as widely as possible without making it seem forced but there was not telling whether he'd take the bait.

The ex-gang members would mingle with the other guests with the focus of keeping the Greene siblings safe. Beth was surprised when they had offered to come and even more shocked that Rick had allowed it.

When she'd asked him he'd shrugged. "Everyone has the right to seek redemption," he had answered cryptically.

Rick had just run over their respective roles once more quickly once the Greene sibling had managed to slip away from their hoard of well-meaning guests. Theirs' was to play convincing grievers, which Beth didn't think would be too much of a stretch. Below the thrumming anxiety and adrenaline, was a dull ache in her heart. Her most sincere wish was that this was done so that she could take a moment and catch her breath, actually mourn her parents.