Red ~ TWD (Daryl Dixon)

You Can't Save Everyone

"They...they have guns.  A lot of them.  I saw them."

Don't kill Tara.  Don't kill Tara.  Don't kill Tara.

Maybe if I kept repeating it I'd be able to stop my hands from wrapping around her delicate throat and choking the life from her.  As if he could read my thoughts my brother-in-law casually slid closer, arms loose at his sides, eyes fixed on me like I was a wild animal. 

"What?  What group?" Daryl barked. 

Between him and Rick the young woman would be lucky to survive the impending interrogation.

She sighed, dropping her head in shame.  "They have an armory.  They have guns."

Don't kill Tara.  Don't kill Tara.

Daryl and Rick shared a look before the latter leaned forward, elbows resting on the table.  "Why didn't you tell us before now?"

"I made a promise Rick."  She raised her chin defiantly despite staring down a less than hospitable crowd.  It was the first time since she came clean that she'd made eye contact with anyone.

Don't kill Tara.  Don't kill Tara.

I understood keeping secrets.  Hell, I was the queen of that particular island, but this was on another level.  Ever since we got back to Alexandria after our failed rescue attempt we'd been throwing around ideas about how to fulfill Rick's bargain with the Garbage Pail Kids, and all the while Tara held the key to our salvation.

Don't kill Tara.  Don't kill Tara.

"Alright, I get it."  He did?  That was awfully generous.  I, myself, was having a difficult time adjusting to the news she was a holding out on us.  "The question now is what do we do?  We owe Jadis the guns and soon."

"Ain't rocket science Officer Friendly," Merle drawled, "We take their shit."

Ah, to have a non-existent moral compass.  What freedom that must offer. 

Tara's eyes widened, and she swallowed hard.  "You...you won't hurt them will you?"  When no one immediately answered she quickly added, "I can talk to them.  We can do this peacefully."

"Seems like a stretch," Rick pondered, scratching his beard.

"Their families, husbands, brothers, sons, The Saviors killed them."  Tara looked around the room, desperate to find a peaceful solution.  "We can do this without killing them.  We have to at least try.  Otherwise we're just as bad as The Saviors."

Rick tapped a finger on the table, glancing at Deadpool and Daryl who both nodded in agreement.  He turned to me, cop eyebrow raised in question.  "Alex, thoughts?"

Yeah, I had some thoughts alright.  Daryl leaned in my direction, discreetly taking my hand under the table.  His meaning was crystal clear, killing Tara was a no-no.

"Terminus." 

Tara sucked in a ragged breath while Deadpool whistled low, leaning back. 

"You can't kill them," she pleaded.

"Who said anything about killing them?" 

Her mouth dropped open, and she stuttered.  "But...but you said...Terminus means bombs, right?"

"Hell yeah it does," Merle whooped, his excitement making almost everyone but me uncomfortable.

"While I don't share his enthusiasm..."  I gave my brother-in-law a pointedly look he promptly dismissed with a flick of his wrist.  "I've found that explosives are highly motivational.  We'll set them up outside the perimeter and blow them strategically to herd them into a central location so they're easier to manage while we raid the armory.  In and out in under 10-minutes."