Chapter Text
“Rick, I think we need to call a temporary truce,” Philip took a sip of water as Rick wiped sweat off of his forehead. It was hotter than any Hell imaginable. “That herd of biters is going to rip our groups apart if we don’t at least stop fighting until they pass. An even better solution would be to team up.”
“And why exactly do you think we should do that, hm?” Rick huffed out. “We could barely come to this abandoned farm on neutral terms. Your men tried to shoot mine.”
Philip shrugged. “They were mouthing off, what can I say? Your boy, Daryl, has one Hell of a mouth much like his brother.”
The two men were silent as they listened to the hot wind blazing past outside. The Governor spotted a towel in a corner of the barn and took slow steps to pick it up. He felt Rick’s eyes boring into his back and laughed.
“You really hate me, don’t you?” he asked without turning around. He paused waiting for an answer and only laughed again when none came. Philip gripped one side of the towel and ripped it in two before tossing a half over to Rick. “See? I can be nice. But only when you’re not testing me.”
A flash of anger burned into Rick’s eyes at the Governor’s words. “And when do I test you? I haven’t done anything to warrant your vitriol. You’re just pissed off you can’t control me and my people.”
“That’s your opinion, Rick.” Philip wiped his face before continuing. “But right now we've got a problem bigger than either of us. That herd is large enough that whether or not it splits into groups, we’re all fucked if we don’t focus our attention on them.”
“How do I know you won’t turn against me and mine the first chance you get? I don’t trust you one bit.”
“Well Andrea trusts me.”
“Michonne doesn't.”
“If I’m to understand correctly, you don’t exactly trust Michonne either.”
Rick’s jaw tensed. “That doesn't matter. She was with you face-to-face and knows your game.”
“Part of it,” the Governor took another sip of water from the plastic bottle and looked down at it. It was almost empty and his mouth was already as dry as a desert. He looked over to Rick and held the bottle out to him. Rick took it and downed the rest of the water. This time Philip’s jaw tensed - it was going to be a long drive back to Woodbury in this heat.
“Rick, I don’t trust you either, but we need to think about the greater good of our people. I gave you options - you can agree to a truce with any fighting between us put on hold, we can join together and take on the herd when they arrive, or you can do the stupid thing and keep trying to fight me as the biters get closer and closer.” He wiped his face before continuing. “Basically you can be neutral, do the right thing, or the stupid thing. Which one sounds more appealing to you?”
Rick rapidly tapped his fingers against his thigh as the gears in his head spun around. The Governor watched him and regretted sharing the last of his water.
“I’ll think about it.”
Inside the Governor balked. Of course he’d ‘think about it’. Philip made his way to the barn’s exit as he talked. “Well don’t take too long, Rick. Knowing you, we’ll all be the walking dead waiting on your answer.”
Rick suddenly felt compelled to strangle Philip.
“Thank you all for coming out to this meeting. I know you've all been stressed out since we got word from Woodbury that a large walker herd was heading towards our two communities. I sent Daryl out a few days ago to confirm this and, well…It’s true. We've got a few days max until they get here. It’s not much time to get ready, but I've got somethin’ I want y’all to know about.” Rick paused to allow the prison residents to take it all in before continuing.
“The Governor and I had a meeting today to discuss some solutions. We've got three so far, and you might not like them. The first two are to call a truce with the people of Woodbury. We can either keep it neutral until the herd passes, or we can join forces with them and help defeat the walkers. The third is to keep things the way they are and risk Woodbury using the herd as a distraction to attack us. I’m prepared to go with neutrality or linking up.”
The small crowd gathered in the prison began murmuring among themselves about the news. One of the newest residents named Sasha stepped forward. “Truce? All he’s done is instigate fights and attack us. How can we trust him?”
“Not only that,” another resident named Glenn started, “But what about a fourth option - can’t we pack up and leave?”
Daryl Dixon, who stood at Rick’s side, shook his head. “No. That walker herd is big and even though Rick said we've got some time before shit hits the fan, they’ll be here and on our heels whether we leave or stay.”
“Which means we either fight or leave and get split up. Besides,” Rick shrugged, “We've all looked in this area - there’s nowhere else to go.”
“Then what’s your vote?” Michonne leaned against a door frame and stared directly at Rick.
“We’re going to take a chance on the Governor. That’s the only way we’re getting out of this oncoming herd alive.”
“Yeah, definitely.” Michonne rolled her eyes. “We’re going to get the herd out of the way and walk right into one of his traps.”
The crowd emerged into conversation again with some shooting Rick the evil eye and others looking at one another, clearly worried. One woman burst into tears and walked up to Rick. “Can’t we put it to a vote?” she managed to ask between sobs.
“The decision is final,” was his answer.
“So let me get this straight..You’re putting our lives on the line and won’t even allow us a vote on it? You've got to be fucking kidding me!” A big man named Julio piped up. “Who in the Hell do you think you are?”
“I’m the leader of this group and you’ll just have to accept my decision.”
“Fuck that! I didn't sign up for this shit!”
Rick shrugged again. “You did as soon as you stepped foot on the prison grounds. Now I said the decision is final and I-”
Julio moved closer to Rick and stopped just in front of his face. The pair stood nose to nose, each one clearly livid with the other.
Before things could get even more heated, Hershel Greene called the meeting to a close and encouraged everyone to go back to their rooms. “Let’s sleep on it and worry about things tomorrow morning, alright? Goodnight everybody.”
Julio backed away from Rick but still kept his eyes on him. “Yeah, whatever!” He gently led the crying woman out of the room and shot Rick one last dirty look before disappearing.
The crowd slowly dispersed with Rick being the last to leave. Just as he was about to go to his room, he heard slow clapping behind him. When he turned around, he saw it was Michonne and she was grinning at him.
“What?” he asked her, a little confused.
She stopped clapping but kept the smile on her face. “Oh nothing. You’re just sending everyone on a death mission and I thought you deserved a clap for your stupidity.”
“Excuse m-”
“I told you about him! I told you everything I know about that man, and yet here you are having meetings with him and ready to trust him enough to fight by his side! He’s dangerous, Rick, and he’s going to harm us when all this is over.” She walked up to him and sighed. “Think about it, Rick. This zombie herd is the perfect way to get closer to you and pull the rug from out under your feet. I would say ‘be careful’, but you’re way past that.”
Michonne shook her head and walked off down the corridor, leaving Rick to think about what she’d said. It was true she’d told him everything she knew about the Governor and how he’d treated the citizens of Woodbury, and he knew from experience how conniving and ruthless the man could be, but this was a time of emergency. They didn't have enough time to pack up and leave like Glenn had suggested, and not calling a truce with Woodbury would prove dangerous for the Prison.
We don’t have enough people to fight that herd by ourselves, either, Rick thought to himself. He rubbed his head as he walked into his room and laid down on the bottom bunk next to his sleeping daughter, Judith. Her little eyes opened a crack to peer out at who’d touched her, and he smiled for the first time in weeks. Everything had really gone to shit since….since Lori, but he had Judith and Carl who he loved more than anything else in the world.
It was true that he would have to tread lightly around the Governor and watch his back at all times.
But Rick would readily swallow his pride and do what he felt needed to be done in order to protect his kids.
The rest of the Prison’s residents would just have to go with the flow.