[TWD x Resident Evil] — Chapter 296 - You Want to Leave, Then Leave

Leon looked at the bristling Black woman in front of him and smiled.

"Who am I?"

He kicked the question right back.

"Who do you think I am?"

Michonne stared at him, her mind running fast.

This man. She'd just learned his name was Leon. He knew about the Governor. Knew about Woodbury. Knew about the arena.

He knew too much.

So much that she felt stripped naked, standing bare before a surgeon holding a scalpel.

Was he an enemy of the Governor?

Or was he the Governor's man, running some kind of double game on her right now?

If he was, then everything she'd fought through to escape Woodbury counted for nothing.

But...

No.

That didn't track.

The Governor was a hypocrite. A performer. A venomous snake wearing human skin.

He'd bring you hot soup, smile, ask where you came from, whether you had anyone with you, and while he was smiling, he'd be lifting every weapon you depended on to stay alive.

But this bald man in front of her...

The danger coming off him was completely undisguised. Like a drawn blade with no sheath, all edge, no apology.

He hadn't even bothered circling around her. He put his cards face-up on the table.

That was absolute confidence.

Confidence rooted in crushing strength. The kind that doesn't bother with schemes because it doesn't need to.

Michonne said nothing.

In a situation like this, silence was the best weapon she had.

Every word she said meant more exposure. More exposure meant dying faster.

She had learned that lesson in Woodbury.

Once the wrong person figured out you had no valuable intel, there was exactly one outcome waiting for you.

Death.

That simple.

"I know what you're thinking."

Leon spoke. He leaned back in his chair, relaxed.

"You're thinking I'm like the Governor — planning to reel you in, lock you up, put you on display like some rare pet."

Michonne's pupils snapped tight.

Rick was watching from the side. His mind had long since stopped being storm-tossed, there was a Category 18 typhoon tearing through his skull right now.

This guy Leon. Could he actually read minds?

"Relax." Leon shrugged. "I have zero interest in his particular brand of crazy."

"I just think you're an interesting person."

And she was. No question.

Michonne was a lone wolf whose leg had been snapped by a hunter's trap.

She trusted no one. Only the blade in her hand.

Give a woman like that meat, and she'd assume it was poisoned. Put her in a cage, and she'd bite your throat out instead.

The only move was to open the trap, hand her back the blade, then point at the whole damn forest.

Go. You're free.

Only when she made the choice herself would she actually lower her guard.

Stubborn as iron, this type. That was the only way to handle them.

But earn her friendship? She'd follow you with more absolute loyalty than anyone else ever could.

"Ashley." Leon called toward the door.

Ashley came in immediately.

"Take this lady on a tour of the prison. Show her around."

"No need." Michonne's refusal was flat and cold.

"I don't want anyone watching me."

"Good." Leon snapped his fingers.

"I like your directness."

He glanced at Ashley.

"Scratch that. Don't follow her. Let her wander wherever she wants. Don't babysit her."

He turned to T-Dog, who was peeking in from the doorway.

"Go. Bring her sword."

T-Dog blinked, realized Leon was talking to him, and took off.

A few minutes later, the pitch-black katana was laid on the table.

Every eye in the room fixed on it.

Leon didn't stand. He hooked his foot around a chair leg and gave it a light push. The chair slid smooth and steady across the floor, stopping right in front of Michonne with the sword resting on top.

Michonne stared at it.

Her companion through countless days and nights. The blade that had put down more walkers than she could count.

The Governor had taken it from her like he was taking her soul.

And now this man, this man who radiated a hundred times the danger the Governor ever had, handed it back without a second thought.

What was he after?

Michonne reached out and closed her hand around the cold hilt.

A familiar sense of safety moved through her entire body all at once.

She felt her soul come back.

"I don't want to look around. I'm not interested in this place."

She stood and slung the katana behind her back.

"I was just passing through. Took one too many looks at your prison and your people grabbed me."

"I want to leave. That's all."

She held Leon's gaze, watching for any flicker — shock, panic, anything.

She wanted to see whether this man's generosity was exactly what the Governor's always was.

A hypocritical trap.

From the side, Merle let out a short, contemptuous snort. His expression said the rest: What in the hell are you thinking, girl?

Shane's frown deepened. This woman didn't know a lifeline when it was in her hands.

The boss throws you an out, you take it and step down. You don't turn around and push your luck.

Too bad he was wounded, or he'd personally drive this ungrateful woman straight to Fort Benning himself.

Leon's reaction defied every expectation in the room, again.

"Fine by me."

He shrugged.

"Though I'll admit — this place really is a good spot."

"Hot meals. Hot showers. Cold orange juice, if you want it."

Leon grinned.

"But if you're set on leaving, nobody's stopping you."

Michonne's inner voice went cold.

There it is.

Same playbook as the Governor, word for word.

Stay or go as you please, but the second she hit that door, there'd be a hundred reasons suddenly blocking her path.

She'd seen this act before. She'd already seen through it.

"Alright."

She nodded. No hesitation. She turned and walked toward the door.

She was going to call his bluff.

She was going to show him she wasn't the kind of fool who'd get sweet-talked into submission.

The room went so silent you could hear a pin drop.

Rick, T-Dog, everyone, they all looked at Leon on instinct, waiting for the word to stop her.

One word from Leon and this woman stayed.

Leon didn't move.

He picked up an apple from the table and started peeling it, slow and unhurried.

Michonne's hand was almost on the door handle.

"T-Dog." Leon's voice came out calm.

A cold smirk tugged at the corner of Michonne's mouth.

Same as all the rest.

She knew it.

"Go open the prison gate for her."

"...What?" T-Dog was sure he'd misheard.

"I said," Leon still didn't look up, eyes steady on the apple,

"open the gate."

"Let her go."

"She doesn't want to be here. Am I supposed to force her to stay?"

➤ Next: You're Really Letting Me Go?