Poker Face

Chapter 37 - Beside Every Great Man

"God fucking damn it," Negan hissed as he and Aven were jolted awake by the rattling sound of gun shots. They jumped out of bed immediately to get dressed, Negan pulling on his clothes that were thrown to the floor and Aven grabbing a new outfit from the laundry basket next to the bed. Negan was ready before her and grabbed Lucille off the couch before he headed towards the door.

"Stay here," he ordered. But Aven quickly finished dressing and ran out the door after him. "God damn it, Aven," he sighed frustratedly, not slowing down on his path to the source of the gunshots. "Fucking stay inside. I don't want you out there." She kept walking behind him and he spent the whole walk down to the main exit ordering her not to, but when they finally reached the door they were stopped by Dwight, who was running in to find Negan.

"It's Rick's kid," Dwight panted, slightly out of breath. "Four guys down, Chuck and Amir are shot. Kid was in a supply truck from Hilltop." Negan was still furious but a sly grin slowly stretched onto his face.

"Carl motherfucking Grimes," he hummed. "That kid needs to learn his fucking place." He turned to exit but Aven stopped him nervously.

"What are you gonna do to him?"

"Relax," he assured. "This kid has potential, I'm not fucking that up." He softened slightly and kissed her on the forehead. "Lucky for him, I happen to be in a fucking fantastic mood for some strange reason." He winked at her and swung Lucille over his shoulder as he opened the door. "But will you just please fucking stay inside," he asserted rather than asked. "Dwight, keep her inside." Aven glared at Dwight, who sighed reluctantly.

"Sure," he muttered. Aven watched through the window of the door as Negan strolled across the yard to a truck where a crowd of Saviors were gathered, Carl Grimes standing on the edge of the bed with a gun drawn. As soon as Negan stepped into his view, Carl turned the gun on him.

"No," Aven breathed, making a move for the door. Dwight immediately stopped her, tightly linking his arm with hers so he couldn't get in trouble for putting his hands on her, which Negan had strictly forbade his men from doing. Aven struggled and continued watching out the window as Negan drew closer to the truck and stood just five feet in front of Carl, whose gun was pointing directly at the center of Negan's forehead. "Dwight, let me go! Do something!"

"He knows what he's doing," Dwight grumbled, not particularly concerned whether or not that was the truth. Aven kept struggling but only a moment later, Carl was disarmed and walking back towards the building with Negan. Aven untensed and Dwight dropped her arm. "Told you."

Negan stepped back inside with his arm around a nervous and typically-scowling Carl, whose eye darted from Aven, to Dwight, and then around the hallway before him.

"Dwight, keep him a second," Negan ordered, stepping aside with Aven as Dwight drew his gun on Carl in warning.

"Let's try something," Negan mumbled to her conspiratorily. "I want all the backup possible to show Carl who's boss. Maybe not as a regular thing but if I'm not going to hurt this kid I want to push the image. I want him to see the devotion these people have to me on every level. I want him to see I fucking own this world and everyone in it." Aven cocked her head, unsure what he was getting at. "I want the wives ready in thirty minutes to sit and look pretty in front of the kid, make sure he lets Rick know the extent of the power they're trying to fuck with."

"Do what you need to do, I'll get Amber, Tanya, and whatsherface," Aven replied.

"Frankie."

"And Frankie. You want them in the lounge?"

"My room," he said, before shaking his head to correct himself. "Our room. Close the bedroom door, put them in the living room. Make it clear they are purely for show. They look happy to fucking be there and they keep their mouths shut. And give Amber a shot of something but don't let her get her hands on anything else. Not the scotch, that's mine. And no tequila; tequila makes her bitchier." With that, Negan turned on his heel back to Carl, throwing his arms open in a fake welcome as he strode towards the kid.