The Second Coming: The Walking Dead: Season Six.

Chain of Events - Part Eight: Degrees of Freedom.

*

Louis' lanky frame stood in the entrance to the cafeteria, his limbs made as wide as physically possible to block any further advancement from Clementine and the congregation behind her.

"I'm sorry, miss, but this space has been booked for the day." He said, thrusting forward something imaginary in his palm and continuing. "Now as you can see, I have all the relevant paper work and must insist you find somewhere else to carry out your deeds."

Clementine responded by simply giving him a look of contempt, and Louis, for all of his performance and theatrics would have done well to be thankful for that as Lilly and Nate would have already put him on his backside before now.

"Come on, Lou. It's far too early in my day to be tangling with you." She said as the four shackled companions waited behind her patiently. Clementine would have been much less so had they not discovered a wheelchair in the infirmary for Lacey-Mae to get around in until she was back to full strength.

"Tangling? Is that a threat? I'll have you know my assistant here graduated top of his class in both armed, and unarmed combat. He'll snap every one of your fingers like glow sticks and subdue you like a pretzel on my word. Tread carefully" Louis' countered.

AJ barely topped out at Louis' ribcage but he tried to look imposing anyway, puffing out his chest and crossing his arms. All he was missing was a pair of douchebag sunglasses. It was cute to see him playing along but they really did need to get on with freeing the girls.

"AJ, if you move I'll let you have a glass of alcohol all to yourself tonight at the party." Clementine said, fully intending to water it down to at best half of a thumbs strength. He didn't budge.

"Louis already promised me my own bottle" He said, causing Clementine to glare back at Louis like some kind of maddened Owl.

"What's that now? His own bottle!? Are you trying to poison my child, Louis!?" She said, raising her voice. He could be irresponsible, but surely not that dim. Louis winced at inadvertently being thrown under the bus.

"Now hold up, I- I said he could have his own bottle. Not what would be in it" He responded, bringing his hands away from their grip on the door frame to almost hush Clementine down.

"Hey!" AJ complained, miffed at either being tricked in the first place or having his bribe revoked due to some rather impressive backpedaling from the self appointed head of the party planning committee.

Louis only offered a regrettable shrug at his betrayal, causing AJ to step aside finally and join his adoptive mothers cause instead. "You just can't get the staff these days." Louis said, shaking his dreadlocks with feigned sadness.

Clem noticed they appeared much more well kept since the group had started up their tenure at The Greenbrier. In fact she hadn't seen them nearly this presentable since she and AJ's first week or two at Ericsons Boarding School.

"Seriously, Lou. We need to get past. Nate will be here in a minute and he'll walk over the top of you if you're not out of the way." She said, pressing him.

Louis dropped the facade momentarily to argue his case properly. "But I need to set up the party! It's going to take the whole day and I want you surprised when you walk in. Only me and my ex assistant are allowed to see before." He pouted, this seemed important to him.

"And why are you even so set on doing that in here anyway? It's an axe and this is a room full of wooden tables. Tables that'll be in half if you let Nate start swinging in here." He finished, though Clementine was left thinking his last remark was a little too exaggerated for reality. Or was it? She sighed.