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The gates screeched to a close behind her. Negan descended the stairs in front of her, bat in hand. She stared at him anxiously, her mind trying to process the fact that she was really there to murder her husband.
"Well, aren't I happy to see you. I figured after all that dramatic shit back in Alexandria yesterday, you'd be a little pissy with me," Negan taunted.
"I'm here to make a deal. You want to talk here or can we ditch the henchmen and talk in private?" Lucy prompted, eyeing the Saviors surrounding them. He waved them away with his hand, holding the other one out to her.
"Yeah fucking right," Lucy scoffed walking past his hand.
"Can't blame a guy for trying," he teased.
"Come on. I'll take you somewhere we can talk," he sighed seriously, leading her through the doors of the Sanctuary.
The old factory rumbled with the chatter of the workers on the lowest level. They scurried about, organizing, cleaning, staying out of sight. The caste system was all too obvious. The people who were higher up in Negan's scale of usefulness wore the clothes stolen off another man's back. The ones at the bottom wore ones they had sewn together in the quiet of the night.
"We can talk in here," Negan said, suddenly stopping outside a door tucked back in a corner hallway. He slowly creaked open the door, revealing an immaculate suite.
"Of course you brought me to your bedroom," Lucy scoffed, looking around the room.
"Most of 'em know better than to interrupt me when I'm in here," he shrugged. He motioned for her to sit down on the couch in his little living area.
"This isn't a social visit. I'm here to make a deal. A trade," Lucy proposed.
"I'm listening," Negan sighed, leaning closer.
"Me for Daryl," Lucy offered quickly.
"Come again?" Negan asked.
"Send Daryl back home. I'll stay here in his place," Lucy clarified.
"I'm not putting you in a cell—" Negan argued.
"No one said anything about a cell. Send Daryl home and I'll stay here with you," Lucy added. Negan sighed loudly, running his hands through his hair.
"I'm not keeping you here against your will, Luc. If you're here, it's because you want to be here," Negan said firmly, rubbing his chin, trying to decide if her deal was worth it.
"I want to be here, Jack," Lucy promised.
"Your people okay with this?" Negan asked, leaning back in his chair.
"It wasn't their choice to make," Lucy replied matter-of-factly.
"Alright, baby, let's go get Dare-Bear, shall we?" Negan sighed, standing up from his seat. Lucy exhaled loudly in relief, following him out of the room.
They were holding Daryl in a cell in one of the lower level hallways. Lucy stewed with fury, thinking of how poorly Daryl must have been treated there. Her heart stopped when she saw that the door was open.
"God damn it!" Negan shouted, slamming the bat on the ground.
"Where the fuck is he?" He asked, turning towards her.
"You really think I would come all the way here if I knew he was outside these fucking walls?" Lucy snapped. She watched her plan crumble before her eyes. She couldn't trade herself for Daryl if he wasn't there. She had to think of another excuse to stay.
"Get me Dwight. Now," Negan shouted at a Savior passing by.
"Where's Eugene?" Lucy asked suddenly.
"Daryl's missing and you're asking me about the fucking mullet?" Negan hissed.
"I want to check on him. Besides, you obviously have a lot of shit to take care of considering you can't keep track of your own prisoners, so I'm gonna go have a little chat with Eugene and you and I can talk later. Hmm?" Lucy reasoned. Negan took a deep inhale, nodding in the direction of Eugene's room.
She knocked gently on his door, not wanting him to freak out, thinking it was someone coming to hurt him.
"Hey, Eugene, it's Lucy. I'm coming in, okay?" Lucy called through the door, slowly swinging it open. He was sitting on the bed, eating a bowl of spaghetti.
"Rick won't be happy that you are in this location, Lucy," Eugene said nervously.
"Does this have anything to do with the fact that I am not supposed to know that you are, indeed, Negan's wife?" Eugene asked. Lucy chuckled softly.
"Yeah. Yeah, it does," Lucy sighed.
"They treating you okay?" Lucy asked gently.
"I have been shown the utmost of kindness. That is, besides the handcuffs and the hood and the kidnapping," Eugene explained.
"If you need anything, just let me know. Okay? I might be able to pull some strings with Negan and get you what you need," Lucy offered.
"How long do you intend to stay?" Eugene asked.
"Well, originally, I came to trade places with Daryl. But, I guess he's not here anymore, so I don't know. I don't like the idea of one of our own being in here by himself," Lucy sighed, leaning against the doorframe.
"I can handle myself just fine," Eugene argued, crossing his arms defensively.
"I know. I do. I just don't like the idea of you being alone here," Lucy tried.
"My whereabouts aren't any of your concern. It is, indeed, your choice whether or not you stay here," Eugene said flatly.
"Well, then I guess I choose to stay for a little while. Just until you're settled. Okay?" Lucy replied. He nodded curtly, returning to his meal.
She couldn't tell him about her plan. He would blab to Negan the second she left the room. She hoped he was a significant enough asset for him to stay alive after she killed Negan.
