Powerless

Chapter 3

Ricks POV
a few days later

My fingers rapped on the counter top next to the bulky walkie. Would I regret this choice? What could he possibly want with me? I lifted my eyes to watch my kids playing outside the window. Carl spun Judith around without a worry in the world. No, I won't regret this. As long as they are happy I won't. The walkie crackles to life and a slow whistle came over the line.

"Oh Ricky. I need ya buddy. I'm bout a mile outside your north gate. See you in 10." Negan' s voice sent shivers down my spine but I sighed and obliged to the random request. I grabbed my jacket and keys before rushing out the door hoping nobody would see me heading out.

"Hey dad where are ya going" I looked over at my son running over to me with Judith hobbling behind.

"Er i just saw a store on the map that I don't remember going to. Was gonna see if there's anything worthwhile there," my heart sank as the lie slipped off my tongue.
"Cool, I'll get my stuff," Carl chirped.

"Actually I wanted to do this one alone, you never know what's out there." His eyes seemed to lose the excitement but he nodded and went back to playing with Judith. This better be pretty damn important Negan.

I slipped in the old car and started the engine while my nerves grew. Patting my leg I breathed a small sigh of relief feeling my trusty pistol by my side. The car creeped up to the locked gate where a native Alexandrian whose name slipped my mind stood guard. I cranked the window down as she approached me looking confused.
"There aren't any approved runs today are there?" She asked.

"No I just need to get away for a bit. Feeling a bit cooped up ya know." I chuckled. She laughed back and left to pull open the heavy gate. I lifted my left hand off the wheel to say thank you and went on my way. My heartbeat picked up as the engine rumbled underneath me. The wind called in my ear making my mind run wild. He could kill me. He wouldn't do it this way would he? Nah, there's no pride in killing a man like that. Maybe he needs me to do his dirty work? I sighed and focused my eyes on the racing greenery past me.

It felt like hours before I saw his familiar shape leaning against a muscle car on the side of the road. As my car slowed on the opposite side his signature smile seem to creep into his face.

"That was the LONGEST ten minutes I have ever had to wait. God almost felt like half an hour, what say you Rick?" He joked.

"Sorry people get antsy when their leader mysteriously wants to leave. Now what the hell do you want?" I grumbled sliding out of the car.

"Right to the point, and here I was thinking you missed me. Would you believe I just wanted to come out here to hang out with my good friend who I just happen to be blackmailing?" His brown eyes watched me for a reaction. I remember Lori talking about something called bitch face nut I never really understood until now. "Tough crowd. Anyway there is a teensy weensy herd heading right toward the Sanctuary and I need you to deal with it for me."
"Why? You have dozens of men who could take care of them?" I growled.

"Because none of them have an ass worth watching while they beat the living hell out of those freaks," he smirked holding out a wooden baseball. My cheeks warmed up and I growled at him to hide it, yanking the weapon out of his hand.

"Let's just get this over with so I can get back to Alexandria. Where the hell are they?" I mumbled stomping over to the passenger side of his car.

"Fuck you're feisty, I love it." He chuckled slamming the drivers door closed. I glanced over at him as the engine purred. It was different from the loud rumble of Alexandria's rust buckets and made me miss the before. His brown eyes focused on the road but I could see the slight sparkle of excitement in them as he drove down the empty road. His comment echoed in my head like a broken record. He's just messing with me I know it. Now if my dumb memory could stop replaying it.

Jokes on you bitch, this is my new jam!

I groaned and turned my eyes to the window trying to figure out where the hell we were going.

Negan's POV

I glanced over at the man sitting in the seat next to me. His blue eyes watched as trees flew past our window. I could almost see his worry every time they looked at me. Sighing I returned my eyes to watching for a decent sized herd of dead to follow the lie I told Rick to get him out here.

"You never did tell me where were going," he grumbled quietly. I glanced over to see him watching me carefully. He looked relaxed but still ready for anything. His eyes held the worry of a leader. I smiled a little bit and slowed the car to a stop.

"Here looks good," I mumbled opening the door. Confusion took over his face as he slipped out on his side.

"I don't see a herd?" He squinted looking into the horizon of the field next to us. He needed away and damn so did I. I watched him search around us before turning to me looking almost angry.

"Calm the hell down I just wanted away from everyone. There's no herd I just wanted someone to talk to." I hummed jumping up onto the hood of my car.

"Again you have dozens of men who could do this," Rick moaned before jumping up next to me.

"Yeah but they're too needy. Besides I like when you put me in my place, it's a nice change." I smiled.

"Is that why you like pissing me off so much?" He laughed. My heart skipped a beat, I had never heard his laughter before. I watched the worry melt off his face as he leaned back watching the sky. "You're right. This is a nice change. You know sometimes I want to just disappear into the forest like this to get away from making so many hard choices."

"I get it man. If Simon asks me when we're going to war one more time I might feed him to the dead myself." I joked. That damn laugh echoed on the empty trees. Maybe this wasn't such a bad idea after all.

AUTHORS NOTE
Officially back with this book. Little bit of kind Negan to start with but I'm not sure where in gonna go from here. For those who waited forever for me to update feel free to just ya know bitch me out in the comments of comments for this paragraph I know I deserve it. Have a happy happy 2020 and I will see you all later.