The Sheriff's Daughter

Chapter Fifteen: A Battle, Times Two

Rick's POV

Rick, T-Dog, Daryl and the unknown teenager had gathered in the lab. The last time they were in that room, Glenn and Anna had been with them. He had proven to be smarter than he looked and she had been laughing. Now, the two could very well be dead or being tortured, and all Rick had to show for it was a teenager with an attitude.

"Jesus, man. What the hell happened back there?" T-Dog asked Daryl.

"I told you," Daryl responded. His anger was still bubbling out of control. "This little turd and his douche bag friends came out of nowhere and jumped me."

"Man, you're the one who jumped me, puto, screaming about trying to find his brother like it's my damn fault."

For a hostage, the boy was oddly relaxed on the outside. Rick perched himself on the desk and watched him. He looked bored, but there was a small bit of unease in the way he rubbed at his head.

Relaxed like a bleeding fish in a shark tank.

He was scared. And Rick could work with scared.

"They took Glenn and Anna," Daryl argued. "Could have taken Merle too."

"Merle? What kind of hick name is that? I wouldn't name my dog Merle."

Daryl, who had been pacing behind Rick, suddenly stopped and lunged himself towards the teenager. But Rick was a cop, and he was trained to react quickly to people and read a situation. As Daryl went flying towards their captive audience, Rick grabbed hold of Daryl and shoved him back.

"Damn it, Daryl. Back off."

Anna was missing. Glenn was missing. Both could be dead. Now was not the time to kill their only lead.

Daryl raged beside him for a minute, breathing heavily. He walked past Rick, his steps thudding against the floor as he made his way to Glenn's bag. Rick watched, unsure of what Daryl's plans were. From the bag, Daryl removed a blue bandanna.

"Want to see what happened to the last guy that pissed me off?" Daryl asked. His voice was calmer than before, but there was an edge in the undertone. Rick understood exactly what he was going to do as Daryl unwrapped Merle's hand.

Daryl grabbed the hand from the bandanna and threw it in the teenager's lap. It didn't even take a full second for him to realize what had landed on his lap. They watched as the boy jumped up from his chair, scrambling away from the body part and screaming. His back hit the wall and he slid down it, a look of horror still on his face as his eyes stayed trained on the hand. Daryl walked over to him and grabbed him around the neck.

"Start with the feet this time," he threatened.

Rick removed Daryl, shoving him back and giving him a look that he hoped conveyed his thoughts.

Stop. We still need him.

But truth be told, Rick didn't necessarily disapprove of Daryl's scare tactic. It was a good idea. Now with the boy more scared than before, they might be able to get some real answers out of him. Rick crouched down to his level.

"The men you were with took our friend and my daughter. All we want to do is talk to them,  see if we can work something out."

The fear in his eyes never left. Rick guessed Daryl was looking very menacing behind him, because the boy's eyes kept drifting to just beyond Rick's left shoulder.

"If you're not willing to cooperate," Rick said, "Daryl can always take a foot and see if you're more willing then."

"I'll take you to them."